ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service: Training

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Attorney-General what his involvement was in the decision to develop mandatory training for all senior Crown Prosecution Service staff who supervised prosecutions involving undercover officers; and if he will place a copy of any training materials in the Library.

Oliver Heald: The Law Officers have had no involvement, as developing training for Crown Prosecution Service staff is a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). I am aware that the DPP has taken a number of steps to address the issues raised in Sir Christopher Rose's report into the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station cases, including mandatory training for a significant number of senior prosecutors.
	The training materials used include information on sensitive operational matters and it would therefore be inappropriate for such material to be placed in the Library.

LIBOR

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2012, Official Report, column 464W, on banks, when he expects to provide further information on discussions with the Crown Office and Prosecution Services in Scotland, and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in Scotland, on the inquiry into allegations of criminal conduct relating to LIBOR.

Dominic Grieve: I have nothing further to add to my previous answer of 16 July 2012, Official Report, column 464W.

Nurseries

Owen Smith: To ask the Attorney-General how many childcare places the Law Officer's Departments provide on their estate; what the cost is of providing such places; how many such places the Law Officer's Departments provided in 2010; what the cost was of providing such places in 2010; what plans he has for changes in the provision of such childcare places; and what the number of places will be once any such changes have been implemented.

Oliver Heald: None of the Law Officers' Departments provide child care places on their estates and did not provide any in 2010. There are no plans to change this.

Recruitment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Attorney-General to what extent the Law Officers' Departments used name- blank or anonymised sifting of applications to recruit staff in the last year for which information is available.

Oliver Heald: The Law Officers Departments do not currently use name-blank or anonymised sifting of applications to recruit staff.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Olympic Games 2012

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from her Department used the Olympic Route Network for travel for official purposes during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Michael Penning: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will publish details of Government use of tickets and hospitality in the autumn, this will include use of transport services which operated on the Olympic or Paralympic Route Networks.

PRIME MINISTER

David Laws

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Prime Minister whether it is his intention that the Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, the right hon. Member for Yeovil, will regularly attend the weekly meeting of the National Security Council.

David Cameron: A list of membership of the National Security Council is available on the Cabinet Office website:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/content/national-security-council/

Irvine Patnick

John Mann: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many telephone calls Bernard Ingham made to the then hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam between 15 and 19 April 1989;
	(2)  on which occasions the then hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam visited 10 Downing Street in 1989.

David Cameron: The information is not held.

SCOTLAND

Olympic Games 2012

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department used the Olympic Route Network for travel for official purposes during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

David Mundell: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will publish details of Government use of tickets and hospitality in the autumn, this will include use of transport services which operated on the Olympic or Paralympic Route Networks.

Pay

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the highest paid position is in his Department.

David Mundell: The highest paid position in the Scotland Office is that of the Director of the Office.

WALES

Buildings: Cardiff

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the cost was of flooring and floor coverings in the Caspian Point Wales Office.

Stephen Crabb: The project to relocate the Department's Cardiff base to Caspian Point has not yet been fully completed nor all invoices received and, as a consequence, while the overall cost will be within budget, we do not yet have detailed and complete figures.

Child Care

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many child care places his Department provides on its estate; what the cost is of providing such places; how many such places his Department provided in 2010; what the cost was of providing such places in 2010; what plans he has for changes in the provision of such child care places; and what the number of places will be once any such changes have been implemented.

David Jones: No child care places are or have been provided on the Wales Office estate. However, all staff with children are eligible to apply for the Salary Sacrifice Scheme for Childcare Vouchers, which enables staff to choose their own child care provider and to have their child care costs reduced as a result of tax savings.

Olympic Games 2012

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department used the Olympic Route Network for travelling during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

David Jones: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will publish details of Government use of tickets and hospitality in the autumn, this will include use of transport services which operated on the Olympic or Paralympic Route Networks.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on Taliban co-operation with the US on security and peace negotiations.

Alistair Burt: As President Obama has stated, members of the US Government, in co-ordination with the Afghan Government, have had direct discussions with the Taliban. At the start of the year, the Taliban issued a statement on its website expressing willingness to open a political office in Qatar. The Afghan Government have also expressed support. On 15 March, the Taliban announced they were suspending talks with the US.

Gambia

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Gambian Government on the resumption of the death penalty and state executions in The Gambia.

Mark Simmonds: Since his speech on 19 August when President Jammeh pledged to begin executing death-row prisoners, the UK has made its opposition to the recent and sudden use of the death penalty in The Gambia clear. Our high commissioner in Banjul has made several representations to the Government of The Gambia, including the Foreign Minister and the Attorney-General, on behalf of both the UK and the EU, both before and after the executions were confirmed. The Foreign Office has also made representations to the Gambian High Commission in London. The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt), issued a statement on 25 August expressing concern over the then-unconfirmed reports of executions. We will continue to work bilaterally and with international partners to apply pressure where appropriate to help prevent further executions.
	We support the concern expressed by Navi Pillay UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, about the executions, and will seek opportunities, including within the UN system, to reinforce it. In November, the UN General Assembly will vote on a Resolution in favour of a world-wide moratorium on the death penalty, which we are actively supporting.

Gambia

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the UN General Assembly Council on state executions in The Gambia.

Mark Simmonds: Since his speech on 19 August when President Jammeh pledged to begin executing death-row prisoners, the UK has made its opposition to the recent and sudden use of the death penalty in The Gambia clear. Our high commissioner in Banjul has made several representations to the Government of The Gambia, including the Foreign Minister and the Attorney-General, on behalf of both the UK and the European Union, both before and after the executions were confirmed, The Foreign Office has also made representations to the Gambian High Commission in London. The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt), issued a statement on 25 August expressing concern over the then-unconfirmed reports of executions. We will continue to work bilaterally and with international partners to apply pressure where appropriate to help prevent further executions.
	We support the concern expressed by Navi Pillay UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, about the executions, and will seek opportunities, including within the UN system, to reinforce it. In November, the UN General Assembly will vote on a Resolution in favour of a world-wide moratorium on the death penalty, which we are actively supporting.

Indian Ocean

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to consult (a) Chagossian exiles, (b) Mauritians, (c) residents in other British Indian Ocean Territories and (d) others on Government plans for marine conservation in the Indian Ocean.

Mark Simmonds: The Government's main effort on marine conservation in the Indian ocean is the British Indian Ocean Territory's (BIOT) Marine Protected Area (MPA). Work has begun on an MPA Management Plan, informed by scientific advice to the BIOT Administration. We currently have no plans to formally consult others over the drafting of the Management Plan, but welcome constructive comments from all stakeholders. We are keen to involve Chagossians in the MPA and have started an environmental educational outreach programme, which has received excellent feedback from those involved. We also wish to have a more positive discussion with Mauritius on BIOT issues, but this remains difficult while Mauritius is bringing legal action against the UK. There are no other British Indian Ocean Territories, aside from BIOT.

Olympic Games 2012

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department used the Olympic Route Network for travel for official purposes during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.

Hugo Swire: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will publish details of Government use of tickets and hospitality in the autumn. This will include use of transport services which operated on the Olympic or Paralympic route networks. FCO Ministers’ and officials’ use of the Olympic route network will be included in this publication.

South East Asia

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation members on the security situation in the South China sea.

Hugo Swire: Ministers and officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have discussed the South China sea with most APEC members on many occasions.
	The South China sea is a vital global trade artery and the UK has a strong interest in the maintenance of stability and freedom of navigation in the region. We encourage all parties to resolve their territorial disputes peacefully, in line with international law. We call on all parties to show restraint and abide by international norms for the safe conduct of vessels at sea.

Sri Lanka

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he has given to the Government of Sri Lanka's National Action Plan to implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.

Alistair Burt: The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) Action Plan contains a number of steps which, if implemented, would usefully address some of the LLRC recommendations. We now look to the Sri Lankan Government to implement the Action Plan and to take the further action on reconciliation, accountability and political settlement, as set out in the March 2012 Human Rights Council resolution.

Sri Lanka

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We continue to have concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka including the intimidation of the media, political violence, and reports of torture in custody.
	We regularly urge the Sri Lankan Government to improve the human rights situation and to investigate incidents that happen and prosecute those responsible.
	Our 2011 Human Rights and Democracy Report contains a section on Sri Lanka which details both our concerns and acknowledges progress. This section is updated every three months, most recently in June.

United Nations

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the oral statement of 9 November 2011, Official Report, column 290, on the Middle East and North Africa, what different considerations relate to applications for full membership of the UN made in the UN General Assembly compared to those made in the UN Security Council.

Alistair Burt: Applications for full membership of the United Nations (UN) can only be made to the UN Security Council in the first instance, according to Article 4.2 of the UN Charter. The UN General Assembly does not have the authority to make decisions on applications for full membership. In his oral statement of 9 November 2011, Official Report, column 290, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), was referring to the Palestinian Authority's application to the UN Security Council for full UN membership. The Palestinian leadership has recently indicated they may take to a vote at the UN General Assembly the issue of enhancing the provisions of their existing observer status in the General Assembly, not the application for full membership.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Consultants

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what consultants have been employed by his Department since May 2010; and what the (a) length and (b) value was of each contract.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 13 September 2012
	The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) does not hold a central record of contracts and their value. It would incur disproportionate cost to collate this information from local records.
	The value of consultancy expenditure recorded since 1 April 2010 is as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
			 2010-11 9,163 
			 2011-12 6,690 
			 1 April to 31 August 2012 3,554 
		
	
	The element of expenditure in the 2010-11 figure that relates to April 2010 cannot be readily identified without scrutinising individual invoices.
	The amounts above include expenditure on external legal advice. Expenditure with consultants may relate to delivery services provided in tandem with advice. It would incur disproportionate costs to attempt to disaggregate the components.
	The following tables provide the names of those companies with whom DECC has spent more than £20,000 in each year.
	
		
			 2010-11 
			  £ 
			 Parsons Brinckerhoff Ltd 1,392,151 
			 KPMG 779,922 
			 AEA Technology plc 711,595 
			 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 697,282 
			 Parity Resources Ltd 543,345 
			 Informed Solutions 476,393 
			 Ernst and Young LLP 301,285 
			 Slaughter and May 275,076 
			 Collabro 220,213 
			 Adam Bond Commercial Advisory Ltd 219,591 
			 Maclay Murray and Spens 186,658 
			 Green Park Interim and Executive Ltd 160,669 
			 MWH UK Ltd 157,620 
			 CRS VAT Consulting Ltd 141,214 
			 Linklaters LLP 125,688 
			 Morgan Law Partners LLP 94,783 
			 Fujitsu Services Ltd 90,104 
			 Enviros Consulting Ltd 83,381 
			 Poyry Management Consulting (UK) Ltd 69,452 
			 Aether Ltd 68,846 
			 Vega Consulting Services Ltd 51,700 
			 Deloitte MCS Ltd 50,000 
			 Nera UK Ltd 49,841 
			 Energy and Utility Skills Ltd 48,819 
			 Hays Specialist Recruitment Ltd 48,344 
			 Hitachi Consulting UK Ltd 47,000 
		
	
	
		
			 Hays plc 43,641 
			 Ax Business Solutions Ltd 42,252 
			 Sinclair Knight Merz Europe Ltd 42,084 
			 Delib Ltd 40,000 
			 British Geological Survey 34,060 
			 AEA Technology plc t/a AEA Environment 33,360 
			 Methods Consulting Ltd 33,360 
			 IC Consultants Ltd 32,766 
			 Fivium Ltd 30,000 
			 Barnardo's 28,548 
			 Davis Blank Furniss Solicitors 26,492 
			 International Resources Group Ltd t/a Odgers Berndtson 26,469 
			 University of Surrey 23,908 
			 IT Power Ltd 23,069 
			 Serco Ltd 22,086 
			 Mott Macdonald Ltd 22,040 
			 Element Energy Ltd 21,552 
			 Capita Resourcing Ltd t/a Veredus Executive Resourcing 21,460 
			 Miller and Young UK Ltd t/a Myfm 21,455 
			  7,659,573 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 
			  £ 
			 National Nuclear Laboratory Ltd 1,497,798 
			 SNR Denton UK LLP 661,661 
			 Mott Macdonald Ltd 462,652 
			 AEA Technology plc t/a AEA Environment 447,843 
			 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 447,565 
			 Slaughter and May 307,375 
			 Green Park Interim and Executive Ltd 265,928 
			 Sinclair Knight Merz Europe Ltd 200,823 
			 Poyry Management Consulting (UK) Ltd 185,064 
			 Parsons Brinckerhoff Ltd 183,878 
			 KPMG LLP 150,760 
			 Nera UK Ltd 91,015 
			 United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) 85,403 
			 Adam Bond Commercial Advisory Ltd 84,881 
			 Capita Resourcing Ltd 83,197 
			 Aether Ltd 73,332 
			 Elexon Ltd 73,322 
			 Sanger Associates Ltd 71,858 
			 Deloitte LLP 62,750 
			 Saxton Bampfylde Hever Ltd 52,300 
			 AWE plc 50,000 
			 Gemserv Ltd 50,000 
			 Morgan Law Partners LLP 48,110 
			 UCL Consultants Ltd 48,000 
			 Hays Specialist Recruitment Ltd 43,342 
			 Crisis Solutions Ltd 43,000 
			 Enviros Consulting Ltd 42,738 
			 Gatenby Sanderson Ltd 35,691 
			 Foresee Ltd 35,341 
			 Penna plc 32,410 
			 TMP (UK) Ltd t/a TMP worldwide 30,691 
			 Matrix Corporate Capital LLP 24,000 
			 University Of Surrey 23,532 
		
	
	
		
			 Ernst and Young LLP 23,474 
			 INDECS Consulting Ltd 22,603 
			 Capita Symonds Ltd 22,000 
			 Risk Solutions 20,253 
			 Landmark Chambers 20,235 
			 Parity Resources Ltd 20,201 
			  6,125,025 
		
	
	
		
			 April to August 2012 
			  £ 
			 SNR Denton UK LLP 475,284 
			 Slaughter and May 284,852 
			 Ernst and Young LLP 249,966 
			 Ernst and Young LLP 178,046 
			 Deloitte LLP 153,946 
			 AEA Technology plc 133,010 
			 Methods Consulting Ltd 104,502 
			 KPMG LLP 93,784 
			 Parity Resources Ltd 73,954 
			 Mott Macdonald Group Ltd 57,518 
			 QCG Limited 41,194 
			  1,846,058 
		
	
	Details of the Department's exceptions to the moratoria on spend for ICT, consultancy, recruitment, property, advertising and marketing for the period May 2010 to March 2012 are published on the DECC website. This relates to new contracts and shows an estimate of the contract value at the time it was approved where this exceeds £20,000.
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/accesstoinform/expenditure/expenditure.aspx#
	DECC uses external consultants and advisers where it does not have the expertise or resources available in-house to undertake work that is essential to the delivery of its objectives. In accordance with Government requirements, all proposals for consultancy expenditure, as defined by the Cabinet Office, since May 2010 are subject to careful scrutiny and those in excess of £20,000 are subject to a rigorous central approvals process which includes sign-off by a Minister. This process includes demonstrating that the work could not be undertaken more efficiently or effectively through other means (e.g. using internal experts) and that best value for money has been secured through the procurement process. For smaller consultancy proposals, local management are expected to undertake a similar scrutiny and approvals process before committing the Department to expenditure.

Electricity: Smart Meters

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the functionality of smart metering to support demand-side management measures for the purposes of introducing flexibility into the electricity system to support the development of a UK smart grid.

John Hayes: Smart meters are a critical part of the platform for the development of a smart grid and demand-side management measures. The technical specification for smart metering equipment includes the requirement to include multiple registers within the meters in order to support a range of time-of-use or dynamic tariffs—which support demand-side management measures. In addition, as part of the procurement processes for the provision of data and communications services, we are exploring the cost of different levels of functionality and capacity for both smart metering and smart grids requirements.

Electricity: Carbon Emissions

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to include a target to decarbonise the electricity sector by 2030 in the Energy Bill.

John Hayes: holding answer 17 September 2012
	The Government are committed to the decarbonisation of the economy, and already has a number of binding commitments to ensure that this takes place. In particular, the Government are committed to meeting a legally binding target to reduce the UK's emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to at least 80% below 1990 base levels by 2050 as set out in the 2008 Climate Change Act, which established a long-term legally binding national framework by putting in place a system of five year carbon budgets; and the UK obligations under the 2009 renewable energy directive.
	Analysis published in the December 2011 Carbon Plan suggests that the most cost-effective paths to deliver the 2050 target require the electricity sector to be largely decarbonised during the 2030s.
	The Department is currently undertaking further work on the issue of decarbonisation of the power sector ahead of the progression of the Energy Bill. In particular careful consideration is being given to all the recommendations of the Energy and Climate Change Committee, including those related to the level of grid decarbonisation.

Energy: Prices

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the likelihood that simplifying energy bills may increase the average cost to the consumer.

Gregory Barker: It is for Ofgem, as the independent regulator of the gas and electricity markets, to assess the impacts of any proposals it brings forward to simplify energy bills.
	The Government supports Ofgem's work to simplify bills and to help consumers more easily identify the savings to be made from switching.

Energy: Prices

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure energy suppliers simplify their tariffs; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: It is for Ofgem, as the independent regulator of the gas and electricity markets, to consider whether action is needed to simplify tariffs and to this end they have consulted on proposals to simplify energy tariffs as part of their Retail Market Review. Ofgem are due to bring forward further proposals, which take account of the responses to the consultation, before winter.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme: Aviation

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many free, tradable allowances will be allocated to UK aviation operators arising from aviation joining the Emissions Trading Scheme each year in Phase III and Phase IV.

Gregory Barker: Aircraft operators regulated by the UK will receive an annual total of 53,616,146 free aviation EU allowances (EUAAs) for each year of Phase III (2013-20) of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). This is a total of 428,929,168 EUAA's for whole of Phase III. The free allocation levels for aircraft operators for Phase IV has not yet been set.
	I will place a copy of the full allocation table showing allocations to each aircraft operator in the Libraries of the House.

Olympic Games 2012

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department used the Olympic Route Network for travel for official purposes during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Gregory Barker: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will publish details of Government use of tickets and hospitality in the autumn. This will include use of transport services which operated on the Olympic or Paralympic Route Networks.

Pay

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the highest paid position is in (a) his Department and (b) his Department's agencies.

Gregory Barker: The highest paid position in the Department of Energy and Climate Change is the post of Permanent Secretary.
	The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not have any agencies for which it is responsible.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bees

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will publish the paper by the Chemicals Regulatory Directorate that reviewed four separate scientific studies on the links between nerve-agent pesticides and declines in bees around the world which was discussed at the 3 July meeting of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides; what his policy is on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides that the findings do not provide sufficient justification for precautionary action on the use of neonicotinoids in the UK at this stage; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The Government take very seriously any threat to bees, which are important in their own right and as key pollinators. We have therefore kept the evidence on neonicotinoids under close and open-minded scrutiny and have made it clear that we are prepared to take whatever action is necessary. This action could include restricting or withdrawing the approved uses of neonicotinoids.
	New research was published earlier this year, suggesting that low doses of neonicotinoids could have sub-lethal effects on bees with consequences for bee populations. We arranged for this to be assessed alongside the existing evidence. The assessment was carried out by experts from the Chemicals Regulation Directorate of the Health and Safety Executive; DEFRA's Food and Environment Research Agency; DEFRA's Science Advisory Council; and the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides. A document summarising the evidence and the experts' assessment will be placed on the DEFRA website very shortly.
	DEFRA's Chief Scientific Adviser has considered the expert assessments, alongside parallel work by the European Food Safety Authority, and has advised that:
	Some of the studies, including those by Whitehorn et al and Henry et al, provide evidence of sub-lethal effects of neonicotinoids in the conditions applied in the research.
	However, none of the studies gives unequivocal evidence that sub-lethal effects with serious implications for colonies are likely to arise from current uses of neonicotinoids.
	Existing studies submitted in support of the current regulatory approvals fully meet current requirements. They do not explicitly address all of the sub-lethal effects suggested by the academic research. However, they do cover a wide range of important outcomes and, in these studies, hives exposed to treated crops did not show any gross effects when compared to control hives exposed to untreated crops.
	Based on these findings, the Government have concluded that:
	It is appropriate to update the process for assessing the risks of pesticides to bees in the light of developments in the science, including the latest research. This exercise should include the development of a new risk assessment for bumble bees and solitary bees, alongside an updated risk assessment for honey bees. This work is being taken forward in Europe and UK experts are active in this. The aim is to complete this highly complex task by the end of 2012.
	Further research will be carried out to fill identified evidence gaps, including the questions raised about the relevance of the recent studies to field conditions. The Government has already put new research in place to explore further the impacts of neonicotinoids on bumble bees in field conditions and to understand what levels of pesticide residues and disease in bees are normal.
	The recent studies do not justify changing existing regulation. However, the research that we have put in hand and the on-going work in Europe to develop the risk assessment could change the picture and it is always possible that further new evidence may emerge. As our knowledge develops, we will continue to consider the need for further research and for any changes to the regulation of neonicotinoids.
	We are currently considering wider policies on bees and other pollinators and will set out our position shortly.

Fish

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the damage to fish stocks attributable to (a) cormorants and (b) goosanders; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: It has been established that cormorants and goosanders can cause significant localised damage to fish stocks, and the fisheries dependent upon them, and to fish farms, resulting in financial losses for operators. Government-funded research in the late 1990s concluded that fish-eating birds could cause serious damage to fish stocks and fisheries, but that the birds were problems for specific fisheries rather than a general problem. Subsequent findings are consistent with this view.
	DEFRA is carrying out a review of the current policy in relation to managing the impact of predation on inland fisheries from cormorants, goosanders and red-breasted mergansers. The review is looking at the licensing process and management methods for controlling fish-eating birds where they cause, or are likely to cause, serious damage to inland fisheries. It is expected to report to Ministers this year. Once completed, the outcomes of the review will be made publicly available.

Floods: Insurance

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to be able to announce an agreement with the Association of British Insurers superseding the Statement of Principles on flood insurance.

Richard Benyon: A number of options are under consideration to supersede the Statement of Principles, including an industry-led levy that would allow policyholders in high flood risk areas to continue to secure affordable insurance without having an impact on bills more generally.
	Our priority is to resolve detailed design issues.
	Discussions with the industry continue to be positive and further announcements will be forthcoming in due course.

Horse Passports

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are in place to ensure that horse passport-issuing organisations are collecting and storing horse passport data in a form that is usable and easily accessible should the need arise for regulatory or legal purposes.

David Heath: Passport Issuing Organisations are required, as part of their continued Government approval, to hold records in their own computer database. These records include at least:
	Name and address of the horse owner
	Date and Unique Equine Life Number (UELN) of passport issued
	Name(s) of horse
	Date of year of birth of horse (where known)
	Country of birth of horse (where known)
	Date and year of death of horse (where available)
	Breed, of horse (where known)
	Sex and colour of horse

Horses: Databases

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which organisations responded to the formal procurement exercise to assess the costs and benefits of a successor to the National Equine Database; and for what reason no bidder was appointed as successor.

David Heath: Due to commercial confidentiality, it is not possible to identify the 19 organisations that responded to the central equine database procurement exercise. The procurement exercise was initiated in order to assess the cost of providing the services set out in the specification. A technical and financial assessment of all bids was carried out, following which it was concluded that the benefits of awarding a contract were outweighed by the cost to the taxpayer.

Olympic Games 2012

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department used the Olympic Route Network for travel for official purposes during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Richard Benyon: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will publish details of Government use of tickets and hospitality in the autumn, which will include use of transport services which operated on the Olympic or Paralympic Route Networks.

Plastics: Recycling

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what compensation will be offered to plastic packaging manufacturers if they pay for an amount of recycling under the producer responsibility obligations that cannot be delivered due to inadequate local collection services.

Richard Benyon: Producers only pay for recycling that has been delivered and reflected in Packaging Waste Recovery Notes. This is a producer responsibility system and it is the responsibility of obligated producers to ensure that sufficient material is collected and recycled to comply with their legal requirements.

Plastics: Recycling

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether new obligations for plastic packaging manufacturers to fund recycling will be changed if local collection services cannot deliver the volumes targeted.

Richard Benyon: We are confident that the new targets can be achieved and will continue to monitor progress.

Plastics: Recycling

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 20 July 2012, Official Report, column 124W, on plastics: recycling, what proportion of plastic packaging waste was exported for processing in the latest period for which figures are available; what estimate he has made of the emissions associated with transporting such waste; and what assessment he has made of the economic effect on the recycling industry in the UK of such exports.

Richard Benyon: Data from the national packaging waste database shows that 16% of the total plastic waste arising was exported for recycling. Of the plastic packaging that was recycled, 67% was exported for recycling.
	DEFRA undertook an impact assessment for the new targets which took account of the emissions associated with the transport of waste for reprocessing overseas when calculating the costs and benefits. Export of waste for recycling has a net environmental benefit compared to landfilling.
	No assessment has been made of the impact of waste exports on the UK recycling sector.

Plastics: Recycling

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 20 July 2012, Official Report, column 123W, on plastics: recycling, how many local authorities collect enough plastic packaging to meet his Department's 2017 recycling target; and what plans he has to ensure other councils meet the target over the next five years.

Richard Benyon: The impact assessment which accompanied the consultation on recovery and recycling targets for packaging waste for 2013-17 estimated that an additional 550kt of plastic will need to be collected and recycled by 2017 to meet the new targets. This material can be sourced from the domestic, commercial and industrial sectors.
	There are no targets on local authorities for the collection of packaging waste. It is for producers to make suitable arrangements, working with waste collectors, to ensure that sufficient material is collected and recycled for them to meet their obligations.

Plastics: Recycling

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 20 July 2012, Official Report, column 123W, on plastics: recycling, by what proportion local collection of mixed rigid plastics needs to increase to meet his Department's 2017 recycling target; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Based on the analysis used to underpin the new targets, it was calculated that the recycling of mixed rigid plastics would need to increase from around the current rate of 13% to 28% in 2017.

Pollution Control: EU Law

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect on (a) life expectancy and (b) premature deaths avoided of steps taken to implement the EU directive on integrated pollution prevention and control and associated amendments (i) in total and (ii) in each region; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the effect on (a) life expectancy and (b) premature deaths avoided of steps taken to implement the EU volatile organic compounds solvents emissions directive and associated amendments (i) in total and (ii) in each region; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what estimate his Department has made of the effect on (a) life expectancy and (b) premature deaths avoided of steps taken to implement the EU large combustion plants directive and associated amendments (i) in total and (ii) in each region; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Some assessment at national level of the general benefits to health of the directives on volatile organic compounds solvents emissions and large combustion plants was made in impact assessments prepared at the time these directives were finalised in 1999 and 2001 respectively. It was not possible to do that for the 1996 directive on integrated pollution prevention and control because of the very wide range of pollutants and installations it potentially covers. All three directives currently remain without significant amendment, although they have recently been recast into the industrial emissions directive (2010/75/EU). A draft impact assessment of that directive was published on DEFRA’s website in March 2012 as a part of the transposition consultation, and a finalised version will be placed on the website within the next few weeks.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the name is of each company with which his Department has a contract; what the monetary value of each such contract is; and what is provided to his Department under the terms of the contract.

Richard Benyon: Our records show that core DEFRA currently has over 500 live contracts; however, this does not include central framework contracts which are normally owned by the Government Procurement Service.
	Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish contracts over £10,000 on Contracts Finder
	http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
	Contracts awarded prior to January 2011 will not be included.
	Information on contracts prior to January 2011 and below £10,000 cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department's policy is on taking into account when assessing tenders submitted for departmental contracts the (a) apprenticeship schemes, (b) policies on employment of paid interns and (c) policies of payment of at least the living wage of each bidding company.

Richard Benyon: Core DEFRA policy is set out in its sustainable procurement policy statement which can be found at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/files/sustainable-procurement-policy-statement.pdf
	In evaluating tenders, DEFRA takes account of information such as the bidding company's arrangements for developing employees' skills and expertise, e.g. through training, apprenticeships and graduate development programmes.

Rural Businesses

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the £5 million fund for rural businesses announced by the Prime Minister on 11 July 2012 has received the approval of the European Commission under its state aid rules.

Richard Benyon: The £5 million of support announced for the dairy industry in England on 11 July will be delivered through the Rural Development Programme for England, a joint European and UK Exchequer funding programme. We will therefore ensure that any available support will fully comply with EU funding requirements, including state aid regulations. The Fund is currently being developed, and will be launched in autumn 2012.

Rural Communities Policy Unit

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what Government policies have undergone rural-proofing by the Rural Communities Policy Unit since its formation.

Richard Benyon: It is for all Government Departments to rural proof their own policies, with DEFRA's Rural Communities Policy Unit providing advice, guidance and support to policy officials across Government. New Rural Proofing guidance materials are being prepared and will be published this autumn to help them in this process. Notable examples of where rural proofing is already happening include:
	the Government's Health Care and Support White Paper which incorporates policy proposals that address rural delivery issues;
	the design of the Department of Energy and Climate Change's Energy Company Obligation, which ensures that the Carbon Saving Community element delivers energy saving measures to the most deprived households in rural areas; and
	the Open Public Services White Paper, which requires Departments to ensure that issues of fairness for people in rural areas accessing individual services are taken into account when developing policies.
	The Rural Statement, published on 12 September, includes a commitment to commission an external review on the effectiveness of the Government's approach to Rural Proofing. DEFRA Ministers have invited my noble Friend, Lord Cameron, to undertake this review and are currently discussing terms of reference with him.

Sewers

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will consider extending the remit of Ofwat to cover charges by sewerage companies for building over newly adopted private sewers not currently subject to approval by Ofwat or any other regulatory body; and whether he proposes to take steps to ensure that such charges are reasonable.

Richard Benyon: The relevant sewerage undertaker has been a statutory consultee for building proposals that are subject to either the planning or building application process since 1974. This is to ensure the development does not adversely affect the undertaker's assets; if it did, consequent repairs could push up customers' sewerage bills unnecessarily.
	The October 2011 transfer of responsibilities regarding private sewers and lateral drains has not altered this consultation requirement. However, since it has significantly increased the relevant assets of undertakers, there are now more cases where this requirement has effect.
	Charges for approving homeowners' proposals to build over public sewers are not regulated by Ofwat as they are one-off charges to those planning developments. They do not contribute to the regulated customer sewerage bill and are not covered by the Water Industry Act 1991. However, I am aware that these charges are a concern to some, and DEFRA officials are currently discussing the issue with Ofwat, industry, and other Government Departments.

White Fish: Conservation

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions he has had on increasing the minimum landing size for sea bass;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the minimum landing size for sea bass.

Richard Benyon: I met representatives of the Angling Trust and the Bass Anglers' Sports fishing Society in June to discuss the possibility of increasing the minimum landing size for bass.
	As a result of these discussions, DEFRA officials are undertaking a review of the bass minimum landing size and the findings will be presented to me in due course.
	It is important to note that any proposal for altering the minimum landing size for bass will need to take into account the relevant science, the socio-economic impact of any proposal for both recreational and commercial fishermen.

Wind Power

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the World Health Organisation recommendations on the noise levels of turbines and their proximity to homes.

Richard Benyon: Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) provides much data on the effects of noise, the Government does not believe that the WHO has provided any specific information about the noise levels of turbines and their proximity to homes.
	The implementation of the Government's policies on noise takes account of evidence from a wide range of sources, including the WHO. The Government would consider the implications of any new evidence coming from the WHO on this issue on its policies.

Wind Power

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what landfill sites are licensed to process wind turbine blades.

Richard Benyon: Waste wind turbine blades are generally classified as non-hazardous waste and can be disposed of in most landfill sites that are permitted to accept this classification of waste.

Wind Power

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of wind turbine blades that will be disposed of in landfill in each year to 2025.

Richard Benyon: Government policy is to encourage the recycling and reprocessing of waste, including end-of-life wind turbine blades, in preference to their disposal to landfill.
	Wind turbines can have a lifetime of over 20 years and a variety of recycling and reprocessing options are in use or currently under development that would avoid the need for the disposal of the blades to landfill. Accordingly neither DEFRA nor the Department of Energy and Climate Change has estimated figures for the number of wind turbine blades that will be disposed of in landfill each year.

Wind Power

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the environmental risks associated with the disposal of wind turbine blades in landfill and the release of bisphenol A.

Richard Benyon: No specific assessment of the environmental risks associated with the disposal of wind turbine blades in landfill, and any bisphenol A deriving therefrom, has been made.
	It is a requirement that waste destined for landfill is adequately described, characterised and in some cases tested, to assess the risk it poses in the landfill environment.

TRANSPORT

Rail: Greater Anglia

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to include investment in new rolling stock as part of the Greater Anglia franchise for the period from 2014.

Patrick McLoughlin: Our aim for the new franchise is to improve the service on offer to customers. Our policy is that bidders for the franchise are best placed to determine how to achieve this. One way that the service could be improved is through new or refurbished rolling stock. While it would not be appropriate for our Government to specify what rolling stock is used on this franchise, we will however, require the new operator to have a rolling stock strategy to support the franchise aims and objectives.

Rail: Greater Anglia

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding from the public purse was allocated to (a) rail services, (b) rolling stock and (c) rail infrastructure along the Greater Anglia franchise in each of the last 10 years.

Patrick McLoughlin: Bidders for franchises are required to submit bids for running a franchise against a specification that will include the provision of rail services and rolling stock. Investment in these areas is included within these bids and will offset the level of public subsidy or premium payments made by the successful operator to Government. Funding supported by the public purse in this way cannot be broken down as requested. Separately, Government may provide specific funding during the life of a franchise through the High Level Output Specification (HLOS). The subsidy/premium payments for the Greater Anglia franchise for each year from 2004 are published on the website of the Office of Rail Regulation:
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk
	Major investment made by Network Rail: The Office of Rail Regulation sets the funding for Network Rail in 5-year control periods. Details are published on the website at:
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk

Charities

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the (a) grant to and (b) use by registered charities of funding from his Department for the purposes of advocacy, lobbying or campaigning; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The policy for issuing grants to third parties (including registered charities) is outlined in annex 5.1 of the Managing Public Money guidance issued by HM Treasury.
	Grants are issued on evidence of need or qualification, depending on the terms of the grant scheme. The Department for Transport ensures the use of the grant in the way envisaged by setting out terms and conditions in a framework document sent to recipients to explain their responsibilities.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles used the Dartford river crossing in each year since 1991; and what the revenues raised from tolls was in each year since 1991.

Stephen Hammond: Figures for the number of vehicles using the Dartford-Thurrock river crossing each year since 1991 are available on the Highways Agency website at:
	http://www.highways.gov.uk/our-road-network/managing-our-roads/highways-agency-areas/area-teams/area-5/the-dartford-thurrock-river-crossing/traffic-flow/
	The revenues raised at Dartford river crossing are referred to as income when the agency produces an account for the Dartford crossing on an annual basis. Copies of the accounts, the latest covering the year ending 31 March 2011, are available in the House of Commons Library and on the agency website at:
	http://www.highways.gov.uk/publications/the-dartford-thurrock-river-crossing-publications/
	The annual account for the year ending 31 March 2012 is currently being prepared and should be available early in 2013.
	Prior to 1 April 2003, expenditure would be shown in the annual accounts of the Concessionaire at that time, Dartford River Crossing Limited, which built the QEII bridge and then operated the entire crossing from 1991. Copies of these accounts, if still available, may be obtained through Companies House.
	The following table contains information extracted from the Highways Agency website showing the number of vehicles using the crossing in each year from 1990-91:
	
		
			 The Dartford-Thurrock river crossing: Traffic flow figures 
			 Period Total vehicles 
			 Annual periods, October to September  
			 1990-91 29,360,644 
			 1991-92 34,797,684 
			 1992-93 37,385,483 
			 1993-94 39,947,382 
			 1994-95 42,557,309 
			 1995-96 44,363,898 
			 1996-97 46,403,105 
			 1997-98 48,455,901 
			 1998-99 50,420,231 
			 1999-2000 50,284,079 
			 2000-01 50,919,256 
			 2001-02 52,040,197 
			 2002-03 53,047,137 
			 2003-04 54,536,521 
			 Annual periods, April to March  
			 2003-04 53,889,168 
			 2004-05 54,363,607 
			 2005-06 54,480,560 
			 2006-07 53,619,224 
			 2007-08 53,240,629 
			 2008-09 51,662,878 
			 2009-10 51,247,772 
			 2010-11 50,939,941 
			 2011-12 50,786,299

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the running costs of the Dartford river crossing in each year since 1991.

Stephen Hammond: The running costs of the Dartford river crossing are referred to as expenditure when the Highways Agency produces an account for the Dartford crossing on an annual basis. Copies of the accounts are available in the House of Commons Library and on the Highways Agency website—the latest covering the year ending 31 March 2011. These accounts are available on the Highways Agency website at:
	http://www.highways.gov.uk/publications/the-dartford-thurrock-river-crossing-publications
	The annual account for the year ending 31 March 2012 is currently being prepared and should be available early in 2013.
	Prior to 1 April 2003, expenditure would be shown in the annual accounts of the Concessionaire at that time, Dartford River Crossing Limited, which built the QEII bridge and then operated the entire crossing from 1991. Copies of these accounts, if still available, may be obtained through Companies House.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the journey time reliability figures were for (a) southbound and (b) northbound traffic on the Dartford river crossing in each year since 1991.

Stephen Hammond: The reliability of journeys on the Highways Agency's roads is measured by the percentage of ‘journeys’ that are ‘on time’. A ‘journey’ represents travel between adjacent junctions on the network. An ‘on time journey’ is defined as one which is completed within a set reference time, based on historic data for that particular section of road.
	The available journey time reliability figures for the southbound and northbound traffic on the Dartford river crossing are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Southbound Northbound 
			 2012 (latest data: rolling year August 2011 to July2012) 58.3 58.9 
			 Rolling year performance January to December 2011 56.0 59.5 
			 Rolling year performance January to December 2010 58.6 53.4 
		
	
	Journey time reliability figures using the current method are not available for earlier years.

Rail: East Anglia

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to increase rail capacity along the Great Eastern Main Line; and what measures to increase rail capacity would require primary legislation.

Patrick McLoughlin: The new East Anglia franchise will be required to ensure it provides sufficient capacity to meet current and future demand. We are not aware of any primary legislation changes that would be needed to support this.

Rail: East Coast

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an assessment of the case for the electrification of the railway between the East Coast Main Line at Northallerton and Middlesbrough station when Network Rail publishes its strategic business plan in January 2013.

Patrick McLoughlin: Network Rail has carried out a high level assessment of the case for electrification to Middlesbrough. Network Rail, working with the other interested parties in the industry, will now consider whether the scheme will be in the Strategic Business Plan it will publish in January 2013.

Equality Act 2010

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to implement section 165 of the Equality Act 2010; and what recent discussions he has had with representatives of disability organisations about its implementation.

Norman Baker: We are completing our consideration of the case for commencing section 165 of the Equality Act 2010. I intend to make an announcement in the near future.
	I have had no specific discussions with disability organisations, but I have received a number of letters on this issue.

First Capital Connect

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with the management of First Capital Connect on improving overall customer satisfaction.

Patrick McLoughlin: The Department discusses First Capital Connect's current and future actions to improve overall customer satisfaction at monthly performance review meetings; and in more depth immediately after publication of the Passenger Focus spring and autumn National Passenger surveys each year.

First Capital Connect

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to review overcrowding of First Capital Connect services during peak times prior to entering into agreements to renew the franchise.

Patrick McLoughlin: We will consider the crowding of the existing franchises when specifying the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise. The Government's Thameslink programme has been specifically designed to relieve overcrowding and provide greater capacity, through more frequent services and higher capacity rolling stock.

First Capital Connect

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to use the forthcoming negotiations for renewal of First Capital Connect's rail franchise to improve customer experience.

Patrick McLoughlin: One of the stated objectives for the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise is to improve overall customer experience, and we will take into account the views expressed in the recent public consultation and wider evidence from passenger research as we develop the franchise specification for this competition.

First Capital Connect

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations from customers and customer groups his Department is seeking to inform its decision on renewal of the rail franchise held by First Capital Connect.

Patrick McLoughlin: The Department ran the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern consultation on its website between 31 May and 14 September and over 3,300 responses have been received. The Department also ran eight consultation events within the franchise area between June and August 2012 and details of these were cascaded to stakeholders. The Department is analysing the responses to the consultation and feedback gathered at the consultation events and an announcement of our findings will be announced in due course.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost at 2012 prices of the construction of (a) Phase 1 and (b) the whole of the construction of the HS2 project.

Patrick McLoughlin: The January 2012 Command Paper estimated the costs of construction of Phase 1 of HS2 at approximately £16.3 billion in 2011 prices, and Phase 2 at a further £16.4 billion in 2011 prices. No estimate has been made in 2012 prices.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the distance is from the proposed route of High Speed 2 of the furthest distant property which has been accepted for the Exceptional Hardship Scheme.

Patrick McLoughlin: The Department does not intend to release this information, as its release is likely to:
	A. Undermine the role of the Exceptional Hardship Scheme panel and Secretary of State, cause confusion to potential applicants to the scheme and, overall, undermine operation of the scheme, and;
	B. Create unnecessary blight and adversely affect the property market.
	This decision was reached in accordance with the principles of the FOI Act.

Infrastructure

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a comparative assessment of the cost of HS2 and other infrastructure projects including those related to broadband.

Patrick McLoughlin: HS2 is about meeting the long term capacity challenge faced on our railways. My predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), as Secretary of State considered alternatives to HS2 before making her decisions in January, as set out in the “Review of the Government's Strategy for a National High Speed Rail Network” which can be found here:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/hs2-review-of-strategy/hs2-review-of-strategy.pdf
	The Government believes that building a new high speed network is the best way to provide the extra capacity that our country needs, supporting job creation and helping to promote sustainable economic growth.

Oxford-Bicester Railway Line

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make a decision on the application by Chiltern Railways for a Transport and Works Act Order to upgrade the railway infrastructure between Oxford and Bicester.

Stephen Hammond: The Inspector's report following the reopening of the public inquiry in May-June was received on 31 August, and is under active consideration. We will issue a decision as soon as is reasonably possible.

Pay

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the highest paid position is in (a) his Department and (b) his Department's agencies.

Norman Baker: The highest paid position in the Department for Transport is the permanent secretary.
	The highest paid position in each of the Department's seven Executive agencies is as follows:
	
		
			  Position 
			 Highways Agency Chief executive 
			 DVLA Chief executive 
			 DSA Chief executive 
			 MCA Chief executive 
			 VOSA Chief executive 
			 VCA Chief executive 
			 GCDA Chief executive

Railways: Essex

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what arrangements are in place to ensure the successful bidder for the Essex Thameside rail franchise will not reduce the quality of rolling stock;
	(2)  what arrangements are in place to ensure the successful bidder for the Essex Thameside rail franchise will not use inferior rolling stock without air-conditioning.

Patrick McLoughlin: The choice of rolling stock is a matter for the franchisee providing it can demonstrate to the Department that it will meet the requirements of the franchise. Rolling stock is not in public ownership so the Department for Transport is not in a position to mandate its use on particular routes or franchises. This is a live competition and the Department has yet to receive bids. Before awarding a contract to operate the franchise the Department will consider a range of factors described in the Invitation to Tender documents which are on the Department's website.

Railways: Essex

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the maximum number of passengers that rail services can accommodate at morning and evening peak times between Witham railway station and London Liverpool Street railway station.

Norman Baker: The Secretary of State has not made an estimate of the maximum number of passengers that rail services can currently accommodate in the morning and evening peaks between Witham and London Liverpool Street railway stations.
	Using capacities taken from the autumn 2011 passenger counts (when the franchise was operated by National Express East Anglia) the total number of seats on board peak services between Witham and Liverpool Street at that time were:
	Morning peak (services arriving at Liverpool Street between 07:00 and 09:59)—there were 19 services, with 14,352 standard class and 816 first class seats.
	Afternoon peak (services departing from Liverpool Street between 16:00 and 18:59)—there were 19 services, with 14,210 standard class and 800 first class seats.

Railways: Greater London

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what (a) arrangements have been made and (b) cost estimates have been prepared in respect of relocation of the Heathrow Express maintenance depot to allow construction of the Old Oak Common interchange for the proposed fast Heathrow Express connection between High Speed 2 and Heathrow;
	(2)  what commitments his Department made to provide Heathrow Express with a new track access agreement beyond the expiry of the current agreement in 2023.

Patrick McLoughlin: The Department has initiated discussions with BAA regarding the necessary relocation of the Heathrow Express maintenance depot which is in the site of the HS2 Old Oak Common station. The reasonable relocation costs are a component budget for the HS2 Old Oak Common station works. The access agreement for Heathrow Express services is between Network Rail and BAA. The Department has no involvement in this contract. As an open access operator it will be for BAA to apply to the ORR for future access rights for Heathrow Express services.

Railways: Greater London

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what costs are included in the budgets of High Speed 2, Crossrail and the Intercity Express Programme for decking over the Old Oak Common site to enable future proposed commercial development; and what effect these works will have on each of these project's anticipated timescales.

Patrick McLoughlin: There is currently no budget allocation for decking over any of the proposed rail facilities at Old Oak Common. Discussions on regeneration in this area are ongoing as part of the overall project time scales.

Southeastern

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the amount of subsidy payable to, or franchise premium receivable from, Southeastern is in respect of its Integrated Kent Franchise in the financial years (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Patrick McLoughlin: The Integrated Kent Franchise was let in 2006 for an eight-year term, with total franchise payments from the Department for Transport to the franchisee totalling £668.6 million in 2005-06 prices.
	Of this total, £24.7 million is due to be paid to the franchisee in 2012-13 and £9.3 million is due to be paid by the franchisee to the Department in 2013-14.

Stagecoach Group and Go Ahead Group

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many meetings (a) staff of his Department, (b) current or previous Ministers in his Department and (c) he and his predecessor have had with (i) Go Ahead Group and (ii) Stagecoach Group since 1 January 2012.

Norman Baker: Ministers and officials meet regularly with both Groups and with their component operating companies in the normal course of Departmental business. This includes meetings on rail franchising and ticketing, and roundtable discussions with a variety of stakeholders on rail and bus policy that include representatives from both Groups.

West Coast Main Line

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the costs that would be incurred by his Department from taking the West Coast Main Line into public ownership for an indeterminate but limited period of time from 8 December 2012;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the amount of additional staffing and support services required from his Department, consequent upon his Department taking the West Coast Main Line into public ownership for an indeterminate but limited period of time from 8 December 2012.

Patrick McLoughlin: Our overriding concern is maintaining services for passengers and ensuring value for money for taxpayers. We believe the best way to do this is to award the franchise to First West Coast Ltd, as announced on 15 August 2012. However, in view of the legal challenge from Virgin Trains Ltd, we are looking at our responsibilities under section 30 of the Railways Act 1993 and, in view of the circumstances, it is only prudent to increase our focus on contingency planning.
	We have asked Directly Operated Railways (DOR), a company wholly owned by the Secretary of State for Transport, to undertake contingency work in order to ensure that, if necessary, the Government could step in on 9 December 2012, when the Virgin Trains franchise expires, to ensure the continued operation of services for passengers. This work will include important aspects, such as safety, that any train operator would need to undertake before taking over operation of a franchise. Plans are in the process of being drawn up for the additional staffing and support services that will be required. The majority of this will be provided via DOR. As much of this work as possible will run in parallel to the work that First West Coast Ltd already have under way on their own planning.
	It is too early to make an assessment costs that would be incurred by the Department with any confidence. However, a recent National Audit Office review of the termination of the east coast main line franchise (HC 824 Session 2010-11) estimated that around £5.6 million was spent on the termination of the franchise and mobilisation of a replacement operator. I anticipate that the costs in this case should be lower, because, for example, DOR is already established.
	Further work is required on potential costs after 9 December, should the circumstances require the Secretary of State to exercise his powers under section 30. However, we would expect any revenues to exceed the costs of operation on the west coast main line.

West Coast Main Line

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discretion he has under the terms of the Invitation to Tender in respect of the West Coast Main Line franchise to pause or terminate any discussions or agreements with any of the bidders before both parties have signed the contract.

Patrick McLoughlin: In the Invitation to Tender the Department reserves its rights to alter the timetable or the process, or to terminate the process at its sole discretion.
	As a result of a legal challenge, which the Government intend to defend robustly, we have not yet signed the contract with First, and therefore the competition remains live. We expect to sign the contract soon.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Yorkshire and the Humber

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether G4S and its subcontractors have started to use Angel Lodge in Wakefield to accommodate asylum seekers; how many people are being accommodated in Angel Lodge currently; and how many people will be accommodated when Angel Lodge is at capacity.

Mark Harper: holding answer 14 September 2012
	G4S is currently in discussions with the Citrus Group and in turn with the Angel Group to utilise Angel Lodge for the use of initial accommodation for asylum seekers. At full capacity Angel Lodge can accommodate 220 persons.

Cybercrime

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the cost of cyber crime to the UK economy.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 11 September 2012
	It is very difficult to give an accurate figure to the cost of cyber crime to the UK economy.
	For example, the Detica "Cost of Cyber Crime" report, published in February 2011 in partnership with the Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance in the Cabinet Office, estimated the cost of cyber crime to the UK to be £27 billion per annum. A copy of this report will be placed in the House Library.
	A truly robust estimate will probably never be established, but it is clear the costs are high and rising.
	This is why the Government have committed £650 million to the National Cyber Security Programme to support economic prosperity, protect national security and safeguard the public's way of life by building a more trusted and resilient digital environment.

Deportation

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants who were ordered to be deported were not deported on human rights grounds in each of the last five years.

Mark Harper: The data requested are not held in a format compatible with National Statistics protocols, or produced as part of the UK Border Agency's standard reports.
	The Home Office publishes immigration statistics annually and quarterly, which are available from the Home Office Research and Statistics website. This includes information on removals. The latest statistics can be found in the Library of the House as well as on the following website:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q2-2012/

Draft Communications Data Bill

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the implications for individual privacy of the draft Communications Bill.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 13 September 2012
	Home Office Ministers have had regular meetings with ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of developing the Draft Communications Data Bill. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings. The Draft Bill also followed the standard process to obtain cross-Government clearance prior to publication.

Draft Communications Data Bill

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what safeguards she proposes to introduce in the Communications Bill to ensure the privacy of (a) e-mails and (b) text messages.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 13 September 2012
	The Draft Communications Data Bill relates only to the who, when and where of a communication (such as an e-mail or text message) and does not include its content. Communications data are used by the police and intelligence agencies in the investigation of all types of crime, including terrorism.
	The Bill retains and extends the safeguards and oversight arrangements for the acquisition of communications data that exist under current legislation. There are proven safeguards and oversight—and penalties in other legislation—in place to prevent misuse of these powers. The Bill is designed to comply with article 8 of the European convention on human rights.
	Specifically, communications data may only be acquired from a communications service provider (who will collect and retain it for 12 months) for a specific purpose set out in primary legislation (such as preventing or detecting crime, in the interests of national security or for the purposes of preventing death or injury in the case of an emergency) and only by public authorities that have been approved by Parliament. Data can only be acquired by these authorities in specific cases where it is necessary and proportionate to do so and where that authority has followed a strict authorisation process for that individual request.
	Communications data requests are also subject to oversight by the Interception of Communications Commissioner, including through inspections of public authorities. He provides a (published) annual report to the Prime Minister. Most communications data are personal data and are, therefore, also subject to the same general data protection safeguards (such as the Data Protection Act 1998) as any other personal information. The Information Commissioner would have a statutory responsibility for overseeing the security of communications data retained by communications service providers under the legislation.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many versions of guidance on the operation of the highly trusted status sponsor scheme under Tier 4 of the points-based immigration system have been issued to educational institutions since the inception of the scheme.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency issued dedicated guidance on the operation of the highly trusted status sponsor scheme (HTS) when the scheme was launched in April 2010. Since April 2011 highly trusted sponsor arrangements have been integrated within the general Tier 4 sponsor guidance that is issued to sponsors.
	There have been eight revisions of the Tier 4 sponsor guidance since April 2011 but not all of these revisions affected the HTS provisions.

G4S

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many meetings Ministers in her Department held with representatives of G4S between 11 May 2010 and 27 July 2012.

James Brokenshire: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Human Trafficking: Children

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many referrals were made from UK Border Agency caseworkers to the National Referral Mechanism for potential child victims of trafficking in each of the last five years.

Mark Harper: The National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which is the UK's multi-agency framework to help identify and support victims, started operating on 1 April 2009. A breakdown of minors referred by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) since April 2009 can be found in the following table. Comparable estimates are not available prior to this date.
	
		
			  Minors referred to the NRM by UKBA/Border Force 
			 2009(1) 43 
			 2010 62 
			 2011 67 
		
	
	
		
			 2012(2) 71 
			 Total to date 243 
			 (1) Referrals from 1 April 2009 to 31 December 2009 only. (2) Year to date only (1 January 2012 to 12 September 2012). Notes: 1. This data is based on management information and as such has not been quality assured as part of the production of National Statistics outputs. It is provisional and subject to change. 2. Data includes referrals by both Border Force and UK Border Agency officers. 3. Information systems do not allow the data to be further broken down by operational division (enforcement teams, caseworking, Border Force etc.).

Immigration Controls: e-Gates

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many e-Passport gates are available for use across UK points of entry; and how many such gates she expects to be in use by the end of 2013.

Mark Harper: There are currently 63 e-Gates at 15 terminals in nine airports across the UK, including all four terminals at London Heathrow.
	Border Force is currently assessing the use of technology including e-Gates at UK points of entry, however there is no expectation that the number of e-Gates in use will fall below current numbers by the end of 2013.

Immigration Controls: Olympic Games 2012

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of re-employing retired UK Border Agency and UK Border Force officers to work during the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

Mark Harper: holding answer 16 July 2012
	In total UK Border Agency re-employed 106 former staff for deployment to the border during the 49 days of the Olympics and Paralympics period. The total in year cost for that deployment is currently estimated to be £962,000 including training and mentoring costs.

Immigration Controls: Olympic Games 2012

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK Border Agency staff from (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland, (d) locations in England outside London and (e) overseas are being seconded to Heathrow, Gatwick and London City Airports for the duration of the London 2012 Olympics.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency redeployed approximately 105 members of staff whose usual place of work was outside of the London area to Gatwick, Heathrow or London City airports during the Olympic period. The figure includes 53 from the north west region, 43 from North Yorkshire and Humberside, three from Scotland and Northern Ireland, five from Wales and south west and one from the midlands.

Immigration Controls: Olympic Games 2012

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many temporary staff have been contracted by the UK Border Agency to provide additional staffing support over the duration of the London 2012 Olympics; and what training will be provided to such staff.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency created a temporary flexible contingency pool that was deployed during the Olympic period. This comprised:
	106 former staff;
	252 current staff; and
	352 staff on temporary loan from other Government Departments. This, in turn, was made up of:
	120 from HM Revenue and Customs;
	200 from MOD police and; and
	32 from Serious Organised Crime Agency.
	In addition, 260 staff per week were temporarily seconded to the border from other parts of the UK Border Agency and Home Office HQ for the seven-week Olympic period.
	All staff working on the border throughout the Olympic period were required to have received and passed border officer training.
	Any staff deployed to the front line received the training required to operate effectively and were only carrying out tasks for which they had been trained.

Immigration Controls: Olympic Games 2012

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost to the UK Border Agency of contracting temporary staff to provide additional support during the London 2012 Olympics.

Mark Harper: The estimated cost, including the cost of travel and hotel accommodation, to the UK Border Agency and Border Force of contracting temporary staff to provide additional support during the London 2012 Olympics is approximately £6 million.

Immigration: Children

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to ensure that details of all unaccompanied migrant children who go missing are circulated on the Police National Database.

Jeremy Browne: There are currently no plans to extend the scope of the Police National Database to include details of missing unaccompanied migrant children.
	However, the Government's Missing Children and Adults Strategy makes clear that all missing children are vulnerable and that where any child is reported missing to the police, effective action is needed to protect and find missing children as quickly as possible.
	Should an unaccompanied child go missing from social services care, the UK Border Agency is informed and the local police will commence a missing person's investigation. High risk missing children cases will be immediately logged on the Police national computer and all missing persons cases over 72 hours must be reported to the National Missing Persons Bureau (MPB) and logged on the Missing Persons Database.

Immigration: Offenders

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has reviewed the extent to which the right to family life is being invoked by convicted offenders who are not UK citizens and who are seeking to remain in the UK following sentence; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: In 2011-12, 409 appeals against foreign national offenders’ deportations were allowed. Of these, 177 were allowed on the grounds of article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)—the right to family and private life.
	New immigration rules came in to force on 9 July 2012 following the Government's intent to redress the balance between the family rights of criminals and illegal migrants and the rights of the British public. Only in exceptional circumstances will family life, the best interests of a child or private life outweigh criminality and the public interest in seeing foreign national offenders deported where they have received a custodial sentence of at least four years.
	In most cases deportation will continue to be proportionate where the foreign national has received a custodial sentence of at least 12 months, or has received a custodial sentence of less than 12 months and their offending has caused serious harm or they are a persistent offender who shows a particular disregard for the law.

Israel

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any members of the Israeli security forces have attended training courses in the UK provided by her Department in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 10 September 2012
	The Home Office and Serious Organised Crime Agency, National Policing Improvement Agency, UK Border Agency, and Immigration and Passport Service, have not provided any UK-based training to Israeli security forces in the last five years.

Licensing

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what permits and licences her Department and its public bodies issue to businesses.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office issues permits and/or licences to businesses in the following areas:
	(1) Firearms. Written ministerial authority is required in order to possess, purchase, acquire, manufacture, sell or transfer prohibited weapons, ammunition or component parts of prohibited weapons.
	(2) Animal Testing. The use of animals in experiments and testing is regulated by a three-level licensing system:
	those carrying out the scientific procedures must hold personal licences, which ensures that they are qualified and suitable;
	the programme of work must be authorised in a project licence;
	the place at which the work is carried out must hold a certificate of designation.
	(3) Immigration. Under the Points Based System. Licences are issued to businesses to sponsor migrant workers, and to education establishments to sponsor students, who seek to come to the UK from outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland.
	(4) Use of Controlled Drugs and Precursor Chemicals. The following types of licence are issued:
	Import & Export licences for Controlled Drugs;
	Import & Export licences for Precursor Chemicals;
	Domestic licences for Controlled Drugs (England, Wales, Scotland only);
	Domestic licensing/registration for Precursor Chemicals;
	Licences to Doctors to prescribe diamorphine, cocaine or dipipanone for the treatment of addiction.
	With regard to the Home Office's non-departmental public bodies, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) regulates some immigration advisers and providers of immigration services, through the issue of certificates of registration to profit-making businesses, and certificates of exemption to organisations who operate on a not-for-profit basis. Members of certain professional bodies, who do provide immigration advice or immigration services, are not regulated by OISC and as such, no certificates are issued to them. The professional bodies not regulated by OISC are:
	General Council of the Bar
	The Law Society of England and Wales
	The Institute of Legal Executives
	The Faculty of Advocates
	The Law Society of Scotland
	The General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland
	The Law Society of Northern Ireland

London Metropolitan University

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has taken legal advice on any potential liability for damages against (a) her Department, (b) the UK Border Agency and (c) London Metropolitan university by non-EU students at that university whose courses face termination.

Mark Harper: Following the application for judicial review lodged by London Metropolitan university on 11 September 2012, this question is now subject to the sub judice rule and I am unable to answer this question.

Child Care

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many child care places her Department provides on its estate; what the cost is of providing such places; how many such places her Department provided in 2010; what the cost was of providing such places in 2010; what plans she has for changes in the provision of such child care places; and what the number of places will be once any such changes have been implemented.

Mark Harper: The Home Office did not provide child care places in 2010 or 2012 and there are no plans to introduce such provision.

Olympic Games 2012: Security

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date Ministers were first advised that G4S would not be able to provide the security support for the London 2012 Olympics that had been contracted.

James Brokenshire: Following ongoing discussions, G4S confirmed on 11 July 2012 that it could no longer meet its contractual obligations.

Olympic Games 2012: Touting

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested on suspicion of illegally reselling tickets for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in each month of 2012.

James Brokenshire: The Metropolitan Police have advised that between 25 July and 17 August 2012, a total of 220 individuals were arrested for Olympic ticketing offences as part of Operation Podium, the dedicated police operation against Games-related economic crime. Figures for arrests prior to the start of the Games or which were not part of Operation Podium are not held centrally in this form.

Police: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police community support officers and (b) police officers there were in (i) Hillingdon, (ii) Hounslow, (iii) Kingston upon Thames, (iv) Merton and (v) Redbridge on 5 April (A) 2010, (B) 2011 and (C) 2012; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 17 September 2012
	Figures were collected by the Home Office for the number of police community support officers and police officers within Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Merton and Redbridge boroughs, as at 31 March 2010 and 31 March 2011 and are given in the following table.
	Figures at London borough level ceased to be collected centrally by the Home Office from 2011-12.
	
		
			 Police community support officer and police officer strength within the London boroughs of Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Merton and Redbridge as at 31 March 2010 and 31 March 2011(1,2) 
			  Police community support officers Police officers 
			  31 March 2010 31 March 2011 31 March 2010 31 March 2011 
			 Hillingdon 114 98 526 540 
			 Hounslow 109 94 540 522 
			 Kingston upon Thames 92 72 337 321 
			 Merton 105 85 396 392 
			 Redbridge 116 108 502 486 
			 (1) These figures are based on full-time equivalents that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) Figures include those officers on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

Police: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police community support officers and (b) police officers there were in (i) Barnet, (ii) Barking and Dagenham, (iii) Croydon, (iv) Ealing and (v) Enfield on 5 April (A) 2010, (B) 2011 and (C) 2012; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: Figures were collected by the Home Office for the number of police community support officers and police officers within Barnet, Barking and Dagenham, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Richmond upon Thames, Waltham Forest and Haringey boroughs, as at 31 March 2010 and 31 March 2011 and are given in the following table.
	Figures at London borough level ceased to be collected centrally by the Home Office from 2011-12.
	
		
			 Police community support officer and police officer strength within the London boroughs of Barnet, Barking and Dagenham, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Richmond upon Thames, Waltham Forest and Haringey as at 31 March 2010 and 31 March 2011(1, 2) 
			  Police community support officers Police officers 
			  31 March 2010 31 March 2011 31 March 2010 31 March 2011 
			 Barnet 178 144 596 585 
			 Barking and Dagenham 101 88 448 443 
			 Croydon 173 141 755 736 
			 Ealing 179 143 728 697 
			 Enfield 170 150 601 580 
			 Richmond upon Thames 103 87 335 307 
			 Waltham Forest 114 100 578 556 
			 Haringey 119 97 734 708 
			 (1) These figures are based on full-time equivalents that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) Figures include those officers on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

Police: Powers

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to publish the Government response to the consultation on police powers to promote and maintain public order.

Damian Green: holding answer 14 September 2012
	The Government is carefully considering all the views received during the consultation and we will issue a response in due course.

Police: Surveillance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with chief constables on the (a) level of expenditure authorised to defend against claims brought by individuals who entered into sexual relationships with undercover officers and (b) provision of funds to be set aside for possible compensation claims; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  whether she has received any reports of police forces authorising undercover officers to (a) lie under oath and (b) commit crimes; if she will give details of any related guidance issued to police forces; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The Government provides a legal framework for undercover operations through the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). The management and deployment of undercover police officers, and their personal conduct, are matters for chief officers—as is responding to any related compensation claim. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has issued guidance on undercover policing.

Private Investigators

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Government plans to respond to the Fourth Report from the Home Affairs Select Committee, Private Investigators, HC 100.

Damian Green: We are carefully considering the Committee's report. Given the relevance of this issue to the matters being considered by the Leveson Inquiry, we will await its findings to ensure they can be taken into account in the development of a suitably effective regulatory regime.
	Private investigators remain subject to the law on intercepting communications.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department's policy is on taking into account when assessing tenders submitted for departmental contracts the (a) apprenticeship schemes, (b) policies on employment of paid interns and (c) policies of payment of at least the living wage of each bidding company.

James Brokenshire: When assessing tenders submitted for departmental contracts, the Home Department does not have a specific policy which covers bidders’ use of apprenticeship schemes, employment of paid interns and payment of the living wage.
	During the procurement preparation process the inclusion of special conditions of contract can be considered on a case by case basis.
	As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, the Department supports and encourages the uptake of apprenticeships in new and existing contracts.

Russia

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library the letter she has sent to the Russian authorities in connection with the death of Sergei Magnitsky.

Mark Harper: holding answer 6 September 2012
	The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has not written to the Russian authorities about the death of Sergei Magnitsky.

Surveillance

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many public authorities have commissioned a non-public body or private individual to undertake covert surveillance under the provisions of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in the last year for which figures are available; which public authorities commissioned such non-public bodies; which non-public bodies were commissioned; and for what reason these public bodies were commissioned to carry out such surveillance.

James Brokenshire: A non-public body or private individual commissioned to carry out covert surveillance; properly authorised by a public authority under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 ('RIPA'), is subject to the RIPA control regime. The independent Chief Surveillance Commissioner is responsible for statutory oversight of how public authorities comply with the RIPA covert surveillance provisions. His published annual reports have not provided statistics on or detail of any commissioning of such activities by public authorities.

Tim Larkin

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will meet the hon. Member for Bradford West and others to discuss the exclusion order relating to Tim Larkin; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps she took to ensure that due process was followed in relation to the exclusion order relating to Tim Larkin; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: The Home Office is not able to comment on individual cases.

UK Border Force

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to announce the successor to Brian Moore as head of the UK Border Force.

Mark Harper: The Home Office held an open competition to appoint a successor to Brian Moore as head of Border Force, but have not yet found the right candidate for this vital role.
	Tony Smith, currently senior director for Border Force and UK Border Agency Olympic Programme, will take on the role on a temporary basis from 19 September 2012 until a permanent head is appointed. We expect to make an appointment by the end of the year.

Vetting

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will estimate the number of people who have lost their job due to a Criminal Records Bureau disclosure of a conviction for consensual homosexual sex; and if she will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: holding answer 17 September 2012
	The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) provides eligible employers with criminal record information, but has no involvement in decisions to recruit or retain. Therefore it is not possible to provide an estimate of the number of people who may have lost their job due to the disclosure of a conviction, whether for consensual homosexual sex or any other matter.

Vetting

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many checks were processed by the Criminal Records Bureau in each month since January 2012; and how many of those resulted in disclosures of criminal records in each such month.

Jeremy Browne: Between 1 January and 31 August 2012, the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) issued 2,763,124 certificates. Of these, 226,083 or 8.2% of checks resulted in the disclosure of criminal records. The monthly breakdown is given in the following table:
	
		
			 Month Total dispatched Total disclosures with PNC match Total matched (percentage) 
			 January 2012 320,256 27,081 8.5 
			 February 2012 345,262 28,802 8.3 
			 March 2012 363,959 29,294 8.0 
			 April 2012 285,653 24,349 8.5 
			 May 2012 375,648 30,808 8.2 
			 June 2012 330,959 26,168 7.9 
			 July 2012 388,444 30,407 7.8 
			 August 2012 352,943 29,174 8.3 
			 Total 2,763,124 226,083 8.2

HEALTH

Commissioning Outcomes Framework Advisory Committee

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what means members of the Commissioning Outcomes Framework Advisory Committee will be appointed.

Daniel Poulter: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is responsible for the appointment of members of their independent Commissioning Outcomes Framework (COF) Advisory Committee.
	Recruitment to the COF Committee was by a process of open advertisement and interview. Recruitment took place between March and August 2011.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase harm reduction interventions in drug treatment.

Anna Soubry: Health care interventions to reduce the harm caused by drug misuse are commissioned locally. The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse supports the commissioning process in local areas by providing information about the local need for services which can be incorporated into the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.

Drugs: Waste Disposal

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the value was of medical supplies discarded owing to their having passed their expiry date in each of the last three years.

Daniel Poulter: Information on the value of medical supplies discarded owing to their having passed their expiry date is not held centrally. However, the hon. Member may wish to contact his local national health service bodies to confirm whether this information is collected.

Emergency Calls: Hoaxes and False Alarms

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many malicious 999 calls there have been in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: This information is not centrally collected by the Department.

Food: Hygiene

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to reduce the number of food safety regulations that apply to voluntary clubs and organisations; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Food Standards Agency is an independent body which has responsibility for developing policy on food safety regulations but is accountable to Parliament through Health Ministers.
	It informs us that there are no plans to change the arrangements that apply to voluntary dubs and organisations.

Health Services: East London

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the effect on funding of health bodies in east London due to the switch from health inequalities to age as a key factor in calculating funding for those bodies.

Anna Soubry: Revenue allocations are currently made to primary care trusts (PCTs) on the basis of a needs based weighted capitation formula recommended by the independent Advisory Committee on resource allocation.
	Age is the primary determinant of an individual's need for healthcare along with other important factors such as need related to deprivation. Both age and deprivation have continued to be key components in the current PCT allocations formula. The only significant recent change in the formula has been to reduce the weighting for the disability free life expectancy adjustment from 15%, to 10%, in 2011-12.
	The weighted capitation formula sets fair share allocations while pace of change policy determines how quickly PCTs move towards their fair share. It is not possible to say how allocations would have differed under a different weighted capitation formula, as this would involve speculation on what different pace of change decisions would have been made.
	From 2013-14, the NHS Commissioning Board will allocate resources to clinical commissioning groups. The Health and Social Care Act has given the NHS its first ever duties concerning the need to reduce health inequalities.

Hepatitis

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the recommendations relating to public health in the Health Protection Agency's report on Hepatitis C in the UK: 2012.

Anna Soubry: We welcome the public health recommendations in the Health Protection Agency's report on Hepatitis C in the UK (2012), a copy of which has been placed in the Library. The recommendations will help national health service organisations, Public Health England, local authorities and their partners in strengthening measures for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C.

Midwives

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many student midwives there were in England in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement on midwifery student numbers.

Daniel Poulter: We are keeping the number of new midwifery training commissions at a record high, with 2,484 places available in 2011-12, and 2,578 places planned for 2012-13.
	The population of student midwives in England is only available for the last three years and is shown in table A. The number of new midwifery training commissions in England in each year since 2001 is shown in table B, and has been increasing under the coalition Government.
	
		
			 Table A 
			  Student midwife population 
			 2009-10 5,567 
			 2010-11 5,644 
			 2011-12 5,955 
			 Source: Quarterly Monitoring Return 
		
	
	
		
			 Table B: Midwifery training places commissioned 
			  Degree Diploma 18 months Total 
			 2001-02 621 525 732 1,878 
			 2002-03 709 724 677 2,110 
			 2003-04 753 716 757 2,226 
			 2004-05 895 744 735 2,374 
			 2005-06 891 397 531 1,819 
			 2006-07 983 540 467 1,990 
			 2007-08 1,307 412 352 2,071 
			 2008-09 1,944 0 328 2,272 
			 2009-10 1,977 0 505 2,482 
			 2010-11 2,034 0 454 2,488 
			 2011-12 2,052 0 432 2,484 
			 Note: Midwifery training became degree only from 2008-09. The 18-month training is a conversion course. Source: Quarterly Monitoring Return

NHS: Complaints

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the five most common complaints about the NHS were in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: Two data sets on national health service complaints are published annually by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, which relate to hospital and community health services, and general practice (including dentist). Subject categories differ between these data sets. The ‘other' categories includes all complaints not picked up by the other categories.
	The following tables indicate the top five subjects complained about in each data set for the past five years:
	
		
			 Top five complaints by subject: Hospital and community health services 
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 1 All aspects of clinical treatment All aspects of clinical treatment All aspects of clinical treatment All aspects of clinical treatment All aspects of clinical treatment 
			 2 Attitude of staff Attitude of staff Attitude of staff Attitude of staff Attitude of staff 
			 3 Appointments, delay/ cancellation (out-patient) Appointments, delay/ cancellation (out-patient) Appointments, delay/ cancellation (out-patient) Communication/ information to patients (written and oral) Communication/ information to patients (written and oral) 
			 4 Communication/ information to patients (written and oral) Communication/ information to patients (written and oral) Communication/ information to patients (written and oral) Appointments, delay/cancellation (out-patient) Appointments, delay/cancellation (out-patient) 
			 5 Other Admissions, discharge and transfer arrangements Other Other Admissions, discharge and transfer arrangements 
		
	
	
		
			 Top five complaints by subject: General practice (including dental) health services 
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 1 Clinical Clinical Clinical Clinical Clinical 
			 2 Communications/ attitude Communications/ attitude Communications/ attitude Communications/ attitude Communications/ attitude 
			 3 Other General practice administration General practice administration General practice administration General practice administration 
			 4 General practice administration Practice/surgery management Other Other Other 
		
	
	
		
			 5 Practice/surgery management Other Practice/surgery management Practice/surgery management Practice/surgery management

NHS: Cost-Effectiveness

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what savings have been made in each category as part of the Nicholson challenge in the last two financial years.

Daniel Poulter: As set out in ‘The Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2011-12’, the national health service was required to start the delivery of efficiency savings to meet the Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) challenge, also known as the Nicholson challenge, in the 2011-12 financial year.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) reported total efficiency savings of £5.8 billion in 2011-12 towards the QIPP challenge as published in ‘The Year: NHS Chief Executive's Annual report 2011-12’. The following table sets out the categories under which QIPP savings were made:
	
		
			 QIPP Category Total (£ million) 
			 Acute services 2,843 
			 Ambulance services 74 
			 Community services 463 
			 Continuing healthcare 159 
			 Mental health and learning disabilities services 440 
			 Non-NHS healthcare (inc reablement) 157 
			 Prescribing 700 
			 Primary Care, Dental, Pharmacy/Ophthalmic 417 
			 Specialised commissioning 255 
			 Other 307 
			 Grand total 5,815 
		
	
	Figures outlining efficiency savings achieved by the NHS during the first three months of the 2012-13 financial year will be published shortly by the Department in ‘The Quarter 1: 2012-13’.

NHS: Drinking Water

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on water coolers in the NHS (a) in North Yorkshire and (b) nationwide in each of the last three years.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not held centrally.

NHS: Official Hospitality

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on corporate hospitality (a) in North Yorkshire and (b) nationwide by the NHS in each of the last three years.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not held centrally.

NHS: Procurement

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which private companies have contracts with the NHS.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not centrally collect information on the contracts which individual national health service bodies hold with private sector companies. NHS trusts and foundation trusts are now expected to publish all tender and contract information for contracts over £10,000, a requirement which applies to all central Government Departments.

NHS: Training

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on continuous professional development in the NHS (a) in North Yorkshire and (b) nationwide in each of the last three years.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not held centrally.

Child Care

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many child care places his Department provides on its estate; what the cost is of providing such places; how many such places his Department provided in 2010; what the cost was of providing such places in 2010; what plans he has for changes in the provision of such child care places; and what the number of places will be once any such changes have been implemented.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has nursery provision at its Leeds site, Quarry House. The facility is within the combined Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Department of Health estate, but the nursery is managed by DWP.
	The nursery has capacity for 46 children. The cost of subsiding nursery places for Department of Health staff was £32,498 in 2010-11 and £28,134 in 2011-12.
	There are no plans formally to review the overall provision. However, the appropriateness and cost of these arrangements will continue to be reviewed as part of regular budgetary reviews.

Older People: Rehabilitation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to assess the provision of rehabilitation services for the elderly.

Norman Lamb: The Department has no specific plans to assess the provision of rehabilitation services for older people. However, through the National Intermediate Care Audit, providers are able to assess their own performance at supporting timely discharge from hospital (and preventing unnecessary acute admissions). The provision of rehabilitation services is a matter for the local national health service, working in conjunction with local authorities, patients and other key partners. However, the Department is pursuing a number of policies to help people stay well in the community, and to regain their independence after a period of support either in hospital or residential care. Here, the interaction between hospitals and community-based services is key.
	The Government recognise the importance of care and support to improving local health and wellbeing, which is why we are putting funding behind the integration agenda. At the 2010 spending review, we announced that, over the four years to 2014-15, £2.7 billion would be transferred to local authorities from the NHS to promote better joined-up working across the health, care and support system.
	Recently, it was announced that the health system will transfer a further £100 million and £200 million in 2013-14 and 2014-15 respectively, over and above the funding set out at the spending review. The new funding will further support local areas to deliver social care services that benefit people's health and wellbeing, by promoting more joint working between health and care. This will enable local areas to transform their services and to deliver better integrated care that saves money across the whole system: for example by supporting people to maintain their independence in the community for as long as possible.

Olympic Games 2012

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department used the Olympic route network for travel for official purposes during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Daniel Poulter: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will publish details of Government use of tickets and hospitality in the autumn and this will include use of transport services which operated on the Olympic or Paralympic route networks.

Pregnancy: Sodium Valproate

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance doctors are given to enable them to give appropriate counselling to pregnant mothers who are susceptible to epilepsy and who are taking sodium valproate;
	(2)  what support he provides to people who have been adversely affected as a result of their mothers being prescribed sodium valproate during pregnancy.

Norman Lamb: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an Executive agency of the Department of Health responsible for ensuring that medicines are acceptably safe and effective in their licensed indications. Part of the remit of the MHRA is to ensure that the information associated with the medicine and provided to health care professionals (the Summary of Product Characteristics, SmPC) and to patients (the Patient Information Leaflet, PIL) is accurate and up to date.
	The MHRA has regularly reviewed the evidence on anti-epileptic drug use in women of child bearing age since the time of licensing and continually reassesses the information provided in the SmPC and PIL in light of new data from all sources, including the UK Epilepsy and Pregnancy Registry. Where appropriate, new data are included in updated prescribing and patient information to best inform the decision-making process between health care professionals and patients.
	The current product information for sodium valproate products contains detailed advice in relation to its use during pregnancy. Women of childbearing potential being treated for epilepsy are currently advised that they should not be started on sodium valproate without specialist neurological advice and that the benefits of its use should be weighed against the known risks to the foetus.
	Information on possible side effects which may occur in the offspring of women with epilepsy who are treated with sodium valproate during pregnancy, including the characteristic features of 'fetal anti-convulsant syndrome' are also outlined in the product information. In addition the British National Formulary (BNF) provides prescribers, pharmacists and other health care professionals with independent, detailed and up-to-date information about the use of sodium valproate during pregnancy.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published a clinical guideline covering the diagnosis, treatment and management of epilepsies in adults and children. This clinical guideline specifically covers the treatment and management of epilepsy in pregnancy.
	We are aware that children affected by ‘fetal anti convulsant syndrome’ may have several problems requiring care from a number of different specialist services, addressing the different physical and developmental problems which may have arisen. Babies born with such difficulties will be provided with support to meet these challenges.
	Earlier this year, the former Secretary of State for Health (Andrew Lansley) established the Children and Young People's Health Outcomes Forum as part of our commitment to improving health outcomes for children and young people. On 26 July, the forum published its report which can be found at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/07/cyp-report
	The forum's report will help inform the development of a Children and Young People's Health Outcomes Strategy which is due to be published later this year.
	The forum has included a number of recommendations on how the needs of children with complex needs can best be met and these will apply to children who have had exposure to anticonvulsant medications in pregnancy. For example, the forum has recommended the establishment of an outcome measure on integration, which would be particularly relevant to this group of children and young people. The approach the forum took means that they have sought to address health provision across a very wide spectrum, of needs.

Scoliosis: Children

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on scoliosis checks in schools.

Daniel Poulter: The Healthy Child Programme sets out a schedule of evidence based reviews and interventions for local commissioners to use when commissioning services for children and families. This includes information on best practice for a school entry assessment at age four to five and a further assessment at transition between primary and secondary school at age 10 to 11. The assessments primarily focus on physical health, growth and development and also include mental and emotional health issues. At school entry many areas administer a questionnaire to parents which explores their child's health and wellbeing and informs the health review at school entry. The questionnaire to be used is determined locally.
	Possible signs of scoliosis (particularly severe scoliosis) might be picked up from the parental questionnaire or from the school entry assessment. The school nurse would refer any such concerns to the community paediatrician or advise the young person or their parent/carer to consult their general practitioner for further assessment and possible referral to an orthopaedic specialist.
	Current advice from the UK National Screening Committee is that systematic screening of children by imaging would not be beneficial, because there is little evidence that it would identify children with scoliosis who are not already picked up through other means. However, the Committee is currently reviewing the evidence for scoliosis screening for adolescents and, following a public consultation which closed in June, is expected to make a recommendation in the autumn.

Thalidomide

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the pilot scheme of health grants given to thalidomiders; and what assessment he has made of the merits of permanently continuing the Health Grant scheme.

Norman Lamb: The former Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Burstow), met with the hon. Member for Elmet and Rothwell (Alec Shelbrooke), chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group, along with members of the Thalidomide Trust and the National Advisory Council, in June 2012. At that meeting, he advised that the Government was not in a position to make an announcement on future funding until a full evaluation of its second year report had been carried out. However, he committed to providing a decision on future funding in the autumn of this year. I have repeated that commitment.
	The report on the second year of the pilot study was sent to departmental officials on 11 July and is currently being evaluated.

Vitamin D: Ethnic Groups

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice the NHS publishes on the risks of vitamin D deficiency for ethnic minority communities.

Anna Soubry: The NHS Choices website provides information to the public about vitamin D and the risks associated with vitamin D deficiency. All of the pages on NHS Choices about vitamin D state that people who have darker skin (particularly people of African, African-Caribbean and South Asian origin) are at risk of not getting enough vitamin D. This includes advice that people with darker skin will need to spend longer in the sun to produce the same amount of vitamin D as people with paler skin. The advice also states that those who cover their skin for religious or cultural reasons may be at risk of vitamin D deficiency due to reduced sun exposure; these individuals should therefore take a daily supplement containing ten micrograms of vitamin D.
	The NHS Start4Life website and leaflets explain the importance of daily vitamin D supplements for babies, young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women. These materials state that this advice is of particular importance for those of South Asian or African-Caribbean descent, or those who have darker skin.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Palace of Westminster: Repairs and Maintenance

Tom Harris: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, 
	(1)  what assessment the Commission has made of the potential effect on timescales for and progress with planned essential maintenance and renovation to the Palace of Westminster of (a) the decision by the House to meet for a two-week period each September and (b) any future decision by the House not to meet for a two-week period each September;
	(2)  what estimate the Commission has made of the costs arising as a result of the decision by the House to sit for a two-week period each September;
	(3)  what assessment the Commission has made of (a) options for and (b) the likelihood of the House meeting in an alternative location to allow essential maintenance and renovation work to the Palace of Westminster;
	(4)  what assessment the Commission has made of the potential savings that could be made if essential maintenance to the Palace of Westminster did not have to accommodate the House sitting for a two-week period each September;
	(5)  what advice the Commission has received and from whom, on the potential effect of the decision by the House to sit for two weeks each September on the costs and timescales of essential renovation and maintenance work planned for the Palace of Westminster.

John Thurso: As explained in evidence submitted to the Procedure Committee for its review of the parliamentary calendar,(1) it is not possible to determine accurately the costs or risks of breaking up the long recess, as costs will vary from project to project, and hence from year to year.
	Major projects being undertaken this summer, notably the mechanical and electrical works in the Palace of Westminster including the corridor works on the Principal Floor, were planned around the known sitting dates. There were no quantifiable additional project costs. However, it will not always be possible to schedule works to fit a shorter summer recess without additional costs, and some projects cannot be deferred indefinitely. An analysis prepared by the Director General, Facilities for the Finance and Services Committee in 2011 suggested that, if there were a permanent reduction in the uninterrupted period available for summer works to five weeks, the overall cost penalty would typically be of the order of £1.5 million, predominantly in capital costs, based on the mix of projects undertaken in 2011-12.
	Routine maintenance and the rolling programme of projects to the Palace of Westminster are planned around known sitting dates, and project timeframes therefore reflect this constraint. The key factor for the Parliamentary Estates Directorate is certainty about the parliamentary calendar to allow for effective planning.
	Apart from the works programme, the marginal costs of September sittings are relatively low because most other operating costs are fixed for the year as a whole and are unaffected by the number and distribution of sittings. Marginal costs of a two week sitting in September are about £200,000, mainly as a result of increased Hansard costs and late-night working. If sitting in September resulted in fewer sitting days at other times, there would be offsetting savings.
	In January 2012 the Commission appointed a Study Group to examine the long term requirement to renew the infrastructure of the Palace of Westminster. In its terms of reference the group was asked to examine the full range of options, including a temporary re-location of Parliament. The report of the Study Group is expected to be submitted to the Commission and the House Committee of the House of Lords next month.
	(1) Written evidence submitted by the Clerk of the House and Chief Executive, available at
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmproced/writev/1370/p220.htm

EDUCATION

Academies Capital Maintenance Fund

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what criteria his Department uses to assess and prioritise applications to the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund.

David Laws: There are two programme priorities for the fund. The first priority is to support Academies with significant building condition needs including Health and Safety issues that cannot be met from routine maintenance funding. The second priority is to support successful, popular Academies that are currently overcrowded and/or wish to expand their existing facilities and floor space to accommodate more pupils within their existing age range.
	The Department considers how applications deliver one or both of these priorities as well as the value for money case and the arrangements in place to ensure that the project is deliverable within the required timeframe.

Academies Capital Maintenance Fund

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many bids to the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund from academies in (a) Gloucester, (b)  Gloucestershire and (c) England have been (i) successful and (ii) unsuccessful.

David Laws: Figures relate to the March 2012 initial application round for ACMF 2012-13 only.
	(a) 13 academies in and around Gloucester (GL1, GL2/GL3 and GL4 postcodes) applied to the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund for 27 projects totalling c£13.7 million. Six academies received funding totalling c£2.4 million across eight projects;
	(b) 38 academies in Gloucestershire applied to the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund for 82 projects totalling c£30.7 million. 17 academies received funding totalling c£5.5 million across 23 projects; and
	(c) 1,071 academies in England applied to the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund for 2,465 projects totalling c£1.16 billion. 571 academies received funding totalling almost £250 million across 773 projects.

Adoption: North Yorkshire

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many couples in North Yorkshire successfully adopted a child in each of the last five years.

Edward Timpson: The Department collects information on looked after children adopted by single people, civil partners, married and unmarried (same sex and different sex) couples. Some couples adopt two or more children, and therefore the number of couples who adopt will be lower than the number of children they adopted. Information on the legal status of adopters of looked after children has been collected since 2006-07. The numbers of looked after children adopted by couples in North Yorkshire and in England are shown in the following tables.
	Figures for England have been taken from Table E3 of the Statistical First Release, “Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England (including adoption and care leavers)—year ending 31 March 2011”. This can be accessed at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001026/index.shtml
	
		
			 Children looked after in North Yorkshire local authority who were adopted during the years ending 31 March by legal status of adopters(1)—Years ending 31 March 2007 to 2011 
			 Numbers 
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 All looked after children who were adopted during the year ending 31 March 20 20 25 20 15 
			       
			 Legal status of adopters: 20 20 25 20 15 
			 Single adopter 0 0 0 X X 
			 Same sex couple not in civil partnership 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Different sex unmarried couple X X X X X 
			 Civil partnership couple 0 0 X 0 0 
			 Married couple 20 15 20 15 10 
			 X = Figures not shown in order to protect confidentiality. (1) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5. Source: SSDA 903 
		
	
	
		
			 Children looked after who were adopted during the years ending 31 March by legal status of adopters(1)—Years ending 31 March 2007 to 2011Coverage: England 
			 Numbers 
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 All looked after children who were adopted during the year ending 31 March 3,330 3,180 3,330 3,200 3,050 
			       
			 Legal status of adopters:      
			 Single adopter 290 270 270 280 290 
			 Same sex couple not in civil partnership 70 50 50 60 40 
			 Different sex unmarried couple 150 140 190 180 230 
			 Civil partnership couple 20 30 70 60 60 
			 Married couple 2,800 2,690 2,740 2,620 2,430 
			 (1) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: SSDA 903

Child Care

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent estimate his Department has made of the average unit cost of child care per place in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) the UK.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 6 September 2012
	The Department has not made a formal assessment of the average unit cost of a child care place in England. The Department's annual Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects information on the mean hourly fees charged by certain categories of registered child care providers in England, and by region. The latest available survey is for 2010. The figures for 2010 are as follows:
	
		
			 Average hourly fees chargedby Government office region 
			 £ 
			  Full day care Full day care in children's centres Sessional Childminders 
			 Overall mean average hourly fee 3.70 4.10 3.00 3.80 
			 East Midlands (1)3.20 (2)— (1)2.80 (1)3.20 
			 East 3.60 (2)— 3.10 4.00 
			 London 4.70 (2)— (1)3.60 4.70 
			 North East (2)— (2)— (2)— (1)3.30 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside (1)3.50 (2)— (1)2.80 3.30 
			 North West 3.50 (2)— (1)2.50 (1)3.30 
			 South East 3.80 (2)— 3.60 4.10 
			 South West 3.60 (2)— (1)2.80 3.70 
			 West Midlands 3.30 (2)— (1)2.60 (1)3.30 
			 (1) Signifies cells where data should be treated with caution due to a low base size. (2) Signifies cells where data have not been included due to a base of less than 50. Note: The North East and Yorkshire and Humberside were considered as a single region for child minders, so these figures represent the combined average for those regions. Source: Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey 2010 
		
	
	The Department for Education has responsibility for England only. Child care policy in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the devolved Administrations in those countries.

Children: Human Trafficking

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities collect data on the (a) number and (b) nationality of suspected child victims of trafficking in their care who go missing.

Edward Timpson: The Department currently collects information on the number of looked-after children who go missing from their agreed care placement for more than 24 hours. We do not collect information on whether these children may have been trafficked.
	While data on the numbers of children who may have been trafficked who go missing from care are not collected by this Department, local authorities collect a range of data to inform their policies and processes. They will of course be aware of the history of children that come into their care, including whether the young people have, or may have been trafficked, and their nationality, where known. The care plan should include a risk assessment as to the likelihood of these children going missing in the same way that the care plan might for any other child.
	The Department is currently working with key partners to develop a data collection system which is more meaningful and gives a clearer picture of the numbers of children who go missing from care. Better local data collection will contribute to improved local strategies for minimising missing persons incidents and improving protection for children in care, including those that have or may have been trafficked.

Children: Human Trafficking

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will consider establishing a comprehensive and independent national system of data collection on trafficked children to ensure data is collected on trafficked children who go missing from care.

Edward Timpson: The Department is currently working with key partners to develop a data collection system which is more meaningful and gives a clearer picture of the numbers of children who go missing from care. The group is considering what such a collection should look like. Better local data collection will contribute to improved local strategies for minimising missing persons incidents and improving protection for children in care, including those that have or may have been trafficked.

Child Protection

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure his Department is able to work with the Troubled Families Unit in the Department for Communities and Local Government to evaluate the effect of working with families in cases where there is serious concern about neglect.

Edward Timpson: The Troubled Families programme is supported by seven Government Departments. A cross- Whitehall group of Ministers is collectively responsible for the implementation of the programme. The Department for Education is represented on both the ministerial and senior officials' group, and officials at working level meet and communicate regularly. The Government are developing robust evaluation arrangements for the programme. Families involved in the programme are likely to include some where there are concerns about child neglect, and this is one of the problems the programme aims to address.

Correspondence

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average time taken was by his Department to reply to correspondence from hon. Members and Peers in the last 12 months; and for what proportion of letters the time taken to send a response was longer than (a) one month, (b) six weeks, (c) two months, (d) three months and (e) six months in that period.

Elizabeth Truss: The average time taken by the Department to reply to correspondence from hon. Members over the last 12 months was 17 days. The Department's records do not distinguish between letters from Peers and letters from other VIPs. The average time taken by the Department to reply to correspondence from VIPs—including Peers—over the last 12 months was 19 days. I include the following table providing more detail.
	
		
			 Table 1: Correspondence 1 September 2011 to 31 August 2012 
			 Percentage 
			  Proportion of letters where the reply took the following time to be sent: 
			 Correspondent One month Six weeks Two months Three months Six months 
			 MPs 30 13 5 1 0 
			 VIPs 34 14 6 1 0 
			 Notes: 1. These figures do not include letters replied to by officials. 2. Peers are included within the VIPs category of correspondent. 3. The Department's records show the number of working days taken to complete a case. One month in this table therefore represents 20 working days, six weeks represents 30 working days, etc.

Dyslexia

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment his Department has made of the work of Pathfinders in supporting children and young people with dyslexia.

Edward Timpson: The 20 SEND pathfinders are testing how to implement the reforms set out in the 2011 Green Paper ‘Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability’. These reforms are intended to improve services and outcomes for all children and young people with special educational needs or who are disabled, including those with dyslexia.
	SQW is leading the evaluation of pathfinder approaches. The evaluation's aims and methodology are set out in a briefing document which is available on the Department for Education's website along with the first two quarterly reports which examine the set-up and design phase of the pathfinder programme:
	www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/send/sen/b0075291/green-paper/evaluation
	We expect to publish an interim evaluation report in October covering progress made until July 2012.
	It is possible that information on specific themes (such as particular types of disability) could be drawn from later evaluation reports but this will depend on the number and type of families who take part in pathfinder testing. The primary aim of the evaluation is to analyse impact on children and young people of different ages and from different socio-economic groups.

Education: Standards

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of lessons were recorded by Ofsted as (a) poor and (b) outstanding in each local education authority in the last three years.

David Laws: This question is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has written to my hon. Friend, and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Michael Wilshaw dated 10 September 2012
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
	Ofsted holds information about the number of lesson observations made on inspections over the last three years and judgements associated with them.
	Inspectors do not make an overall judgement about individual lessons, and do not always see the whole of each lesson, especially those that run for extensive periods of time. Instead, they make judgements about four key aspects of a lesson: achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety of pupils, and leadership and management Not every aspect is judged in every lesson observed. This means we cannot precisely answer this question because there is no overall judgement of a lesson's quality recorded.
	In the interests of transparency, we have provided summary statistics for judgements about the quality of teaching made during lesson observations, where teaching has been graded within a lesson. The data show the number of inspections, the number of observations in which the quality of teaching was judged, and the proportion of these observations in which the quality of teaching was judged to be outstanding or inadequate in each local authority for the 2009/10 and 2010/11 academic years and for the September 2011 to March 2012 period. This reflects the period for which official statistics about inspection outcomes have been released.
	It is important to note that inspectors observe a sample of, but not all, lessons being carried out in schools inspected. The data provided are not representative of the nation as a whole, and changes from one year to the next may reflect the sample of schools inspected rather than a trend.
	Proportionate inspection allows. Ofsted to focus on those, schools where improvement is most needed—we do not attempt to inspect a representative sample of provision each year, and the scheduling of a school's inspection will be partly determined by performance at, and timing of, the previous inspection. The exemption of outstanding schools from routine inspection, combined with the factors above, means that the summary statistics are likely to underestimate the proportion of outstanding or good teaching, and overestimate the proportion of satisfactory or inadequate teaching. The figures are therefore not necessarily what we would expect to see had we observed every lesson in every school across the country.
	“The Framework for school inspection”(1) places a strong emphasis on inspectors observing lessons in order to evaluate:
	how well teaching promotes learning, progress and enjoyment for all pupils
	how well assessment is used to meet the needs of all pupils.
	Outline guidance and grade descriptors used by inspectors are set out in “The evaluation schedule for schools” which is available on our website at:
	http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/evaluation-schedule-for-inspection-of-maintained-schools-and-academies-january-2012
	Inspectors employ a variety of approaches when observing lessons and plan an observation strategy that is precisely tailored to gathering evidence to meet the particular demands and circumstances of an individual inspection. For example, inspectors might engage in:
	part lesson observations of 20-30 minutes in order to see most teachers in a primary school or a significant minority in a secondary school;
	tracking a class or group of pupils, particularly in order to evaluate the experience, progress or learning of specific groups of pupils in the context of other learners' experiences;
	longer observations to assess standards of attainment through work scrutiny and discussions with pupils, or to capture the best practice, or to diagnose weaker teaching and provide detailed evidence to underpin recommendations for improvement;
	short observations of a number of lessons to follow a particular inspection trail.
	Further information about inspectors' strategies for lesson observations may be found in “Conducting school inspections” which is available from our website at:
	http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/conducting-school-inspections-guidance-for-inspectors-of-schools-january-2012
	(1 )Available at:
	http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Forms-and-guidance/Browse-all-by/Other/General/Framework-for-the-inspection-of-maintained-schools-in-England-from-September-2009

English Language: GCSE

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what meetings he has had with the AQA exam board on the recent GCSE English exam results;
	(2)  whether he plans to hold an inquiry into the AQA exam board's procedures for changing grade boundaries and marking procedures for 2012's GCSE examination results.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answers 7 September 2012
	I have had no meetings with AQA, or any other awarding organisation, on the subject of this year's GCSE results.
	Procedures relating to the marking and grading of GCSEs are matters for awarding organisations and the independent regulator, Ofqual, which is accountable to Parliament. Ofqual published its initial report on 2012 GCSE English awards on 31 August 2012, which is available at:
	http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/files/2012-08-31-gcse-english-awards-2012-a-regulatory-report.pdf

First Aid: Curriculum

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what comparative assessment he has made of the inclusion of first aid training in the curriculum of schools in Wales.

Elizabeth Truss: We have not undertaken an assessment on the inclusion of first aid training in the curriculum of schools in Wales.

Food Technology

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what requirement there is for schools to teach basic cooking skills; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that children attending academies and free schools receive adequate education in basic cooking skills; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answers 6 and 10 September 2012
	Food technology, within which practical cookery can be taught, is part of the design and technology curriculum, which is currently a compulsory national curriculum subject in maintained primary schools. Food technology is not compulsory in maintained secondary schools, which are able to choose whether to offer food technology or the study of textiles.
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), announced on 11 June that design and technology would continue to be compulsory in the new national curriculum for maintained primary schools. We are currently considering what the national curriculum for design and technology should include and will make an announcement in due course.
	Decisions on which curriculum subjects beyond English, mathematics, science and physical education should be included in the secondary national curriculum will be announced shortly. We intend to consult on all aspects of the new national curriculum in 2013.
	Academies and free schools are not required to follow the national curriculum, although many choose to do so. Having freedom from the national curriculum allows academies and free schools to continue to develop a creative and innovative teaching and learning environment which responds to the needs of their pupils and pressure from parents. Many parents want their children to learn basic cooking skills. Academies and free schools run by well-motivated parents and governing bodies will continue to provide the best opportunities for all their pupils.

GCSE

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children left school without any GCSE C grade or better in each year between 1997 and 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: Information based on either the number of pupils aged 15 or at the end of Key Stage 4 is given in the following table:
	
		
			 Number and percentage of pupils who did not achieve any GCSE grade C or better (including equivalents).(1) Year: 1996/97 to 2010/11. Coverage: England 
			  Number of pupils who did not achieve one or more GCSE grade A*-C (or equivalent) Percentage of pupils who did not achieve one or more GCSE grade A*-C (or equivalent) (percentage) 
			 1996/97(2, 3, 4) 173,096 29.5 
			 1997/98 164,510 28.6 
			 1998/99 159,186 27.4 
			 1999/00 153,224 26.4 
		
	
	
		
			 2000/01 156,863 26.0 
			 2001/02 150,425 24.8 
			 2002/03 151,798 24.4 
			 2003/04(5) 155,742 24.2 
			 2004/05(6, 7) 136,184 21.5 
			 2005/06 129,832 20.1 
			 2006/07 113,603 17.5 
			 2007/08 94,038 14.4 
			 2008/09 72,334 11.4 
			 2009/10 56,937 8.9 
			 2010/11 44,683 7.1 
			 (1) Including attempts and achievement in previous academic years. (2) Percentages from 1996/97 to 2002/03 include GCSEs and GNVQs (3) Figures from 1996/97 to 2003/04 relate to pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year. (4) Figures from 1996/97 to 2003/04 are based on final data. (5) Percentages from 2003/04 include GCSEs and other equivalent qualifications approved for use pre-16. (6) Figures from 2004/05 onwards are for pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. (7) Figures from 2004/05 onwards are based on revised data.

Health Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent steps his Department has taken to educate pupils on the dangers of underage drinking.

Elizabeth Truss: It is important that all young people are taught about the dangers of alcohol so that they have the knowledge and understanding to make informed choices about their health and to take more responsibility for their actions. The effects of alcohol are currently covered within personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education and as part of the statutory National Curriculum for Science. Within PSHE, pupils are also taught about the personal and social consequences of misuse for themselves and others. The Department is currently reviewing PSHE education to determine how we can improve the quality of all PSHE teaching and support teachers to teach the subject well. The review also aims to identify the essential core body of knowledge that pupils should be taught.
	The Department has also been working with the voluntary organisation, Drinkaware, on an education programme called In:tuition. This is a course of 10 lessons for primary and 11 for secondary which are available for free in print and online. Each lesson has a home learning activity to encourage parental involvement. Drinkaware piloted the programme across schools in the UK over the last academic year and are currently evaluating it.

Human Trafficking: Children

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  pursuant to the oral answer of 18 June 2012, Official Report, column 593, on human trafficking, what the outcomes were of the meeting between his Department and the Home Office held on 18 June 2012 regarding the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre;
	(2)  what consideration his Department has given to introducing a system of guardianship for child victims of trafficking;
	(3)  what progress has been made in respect of his Department's request to the Children's Commissioner for England to conduct a review into the practical care arrangements for trafficked children.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 28 June 2012
	The Government have made clear that we strongly support the work of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and want to build on its success to ensure children are even better protected in the future. As one of the National Crime Agency's four operational commands, CEOP will lead national level law enforcement work to protect children, drawing on the wider Agency's ability to deliver a single national intelligence picture, prioritise action and co-ordinate the law enforcement response. Reflecting the importance of child protection within the NCA's work, the Agency as a whole will also be subject to the duty to make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under sections 11 and 28 of the Children Act 2004. The meeting referred to in oral answers on 18 June 2012, Official Report, column 593, was not, in fact, a meeting between DFE and HO Ministers, but rather a meeting between the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families.
	As part of our implementation of the EU Directive on Human Trafficking, the Government has considered the arrangements currently in place to ensure they meet the guardianship standards required and are satisfied that the arrangements that already exist fulfil this function. Trafficked children who become looked after by the local authority are already provided with significant support through existing statutory mechanisms, and are supported in the same way as all looked after children. The appointment of guardians is a longstanding issue and one that the Government has considered a number of times. The Government's view is that the addition of a separate legal advocate would add an unnecessary and unhelpful level of complexity to the system when in fact what is required is for all relevant agencies to work effectively together to support these vulnerable young people. Many local authorities already do have good support systems in place, and we want to see all authorities come up to the standard of the best.
	Work is under way to commission a review of the practical care arrangements for trafficked children. This work, being led by the Home Office, working in partnership with this Department, the Office of the Children's Commissioner, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and the Association of Directors of Children's Services signals the importance the Government attach to understanding the real picture and experiences of trafficked children in the care system. It is anticipated that the resulting report will be available by the end of the financial year.

Literacy: Teaching Methods

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on teaching children to (a) read through phonics and (b) decode phonics.

Elizabeth Truss: Research shows clearly that phonics is the best way to teach young children to read. This is why we are strongly encouraging schools to use phonics, and have made available up to £3,000 of match-funding to enable schools with Key Stage 1 pupils to buy high-quality systematic synthetic phonics resources and/or training. The Year 1 phonics screening check which we have introduced will help teachers to identify which children are able to decode accurately using phonics, and which children need further support.

National Curriculum Advisory Committee

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how the work of the National Curriculum Advisory Committee has contributed to the progress of the National Curriculum Review;
	(2)  what plans the National Curriculum Advisory Committee has for its future activities.

Elizabeth Truss: The National Curriculum Advisory Committee has met 10 times since the launch of the review. Members have offered advice on a wide range of issues relating to the review, including the issues addressed in the Expert Panel's report which was published on 19 December 2011, the draft documents for primary English, mathematics and science which were published on 11 June 2012 and issues relating to implementation of the new curriculum. The Advisory Committee will continue to meet and advise the Department for the remainder of the review in line with its terms of reference, which can be found at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/nationalcurriculum/a0073046/advisory-committee-terms-of-reference

Child Care

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many childcare places his Department provides on its estate; what the cost is of providing such places; how many such places his Department provided in 2010; what the cost was of providing such places in 2010; what plans he has for changes in the provision of such childcare places; and what the number of places will be once any such changes have been implemented.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education (DFE) was created on 12 May 2010. DFE and its predecessor Departments previously subsidised places at work-place nurseries. With the introduction of a salary sacrifice child care voucher scheme the funding of subsidised nursery places were gradually reduced until they ceased completely in March 2012.
	Spend for the last three full financial years is set out in the following table. These figures have been rounded.
	
		
			  Number of children using nursery places(1) Spend (£000) 
			 2009-10 14 17 
			 2010-11 7 7 
			 2011-12 4 3 
			 (1) Number of places over the full year financial year. Note not all children attended for full year, some left or joined part way through. Cost per child dependent on number of hours in nursery.

Parents: Education

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the evidential basis for the content of parenting classes delivered under the CANparent initiative;
	(2)  how many parenting classes have been delivered under the CANparent initiative to date;
	(3)  how many individual parents have accessed parenting classes under the CANparent initiative to date.

Edward Timpson: Assessment of the evidential basis of the content of CANparent classes in Camden, High Peak and Middlesbrough was carried out as part of a competitive procurement process. Applications were submitted in response to an invitation to tender and published evaluation criteria which set out the requirement that course content should be based on the principles that characterise effective parenting programmes, set out by the National Academy of Parenting Research. In addition the Department took advice from two independent parenting experts.
	The fourteen class providers awarded concession contracts in the CANparent trial have been developing their services since its launch on 18 May 2012. Eleven of the fourteen are currently offering classes to parents; the remaining three will start this month. The Department does not hold figures on the number of individual classes being offered.
	Data on parental take up of classes will be collected as part of the trial evaluation's Parental Participation survey; the evaluation interim report will be published in spring 2013.

Physical Education: Curriculum

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department plans to make any changes to the national curriculum for physical education.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department is carrying out a review of the national curriculum, with a view to the new curriculum being taught from 2014. At the launch on 20 January 2011, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), confirmed that physical education would continue to be compulsory at all four key stages. The requirement to learn to swim will be retained; and there will be a greater emphasis on competitive sport. We will be consulting on the draft Programme of Study for physical education early next year.

Physical Education: Teachers

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department has given to schools who receive PE teacher release funding (a) on their use of that funding and (b) on how to embed the work that the released PE teachers do within their school and with local schools in their core provision following the planned termination of that funding at the end of academic year 2012-13.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 5 September 2012
	When the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), announced that he was making £65 million available to release PE teachers to provide more competitive sport in schools, he made it clear that schools should plan from the beginning that this funding will end by August 2013 and, therefore, schools needed to embed this work into their core provision.
	This message was repeated to schools when the first payments were made last year. Also included were further details about:
	eligible schools;
	level of funding;
	funding period; and
	purpose of funding.
	The second payment will be made to schools in October this year. No further guidance is being issued to schools. Schools are best placed to make their own decisions about how best they can embed this work into their core provision.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the name is of each company with which his Department has a contract; what the monetary value of each such contract is; and what is provided to his Department under the terms of the contract.

Elizabeth Truss: To provide the name of each company holding a contract with the Department for Education with its accompanying monetary value including a description of the provision of each contract would involve extensive analysis and therefore would incur disproportionate costs. Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the contracts they award
	www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
	Contracts awarded prior to January 2011 will not be included.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his Department's policy is on taking into account when assessing tenders submitted for departmental contracts the (a) apprenticeship schemes, (b) policies on employment of paid interns and (c) policies of payment of at least the living wage of each bidding company.

Elizabeth Truss: UK public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money which means the optimum combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the project or service. Public sector procurers are required to assess value for money from the perspective of the contracting authority using criteria linked to the subject matter of the contract including compliance with the published specification.
	Wider socio-economic benefits that accrue to the contracting authority can be taken into account at tender evaluation stage if they relate to the subject matter of a contract from the point of view of the contracting authority.

Public Bodies: Staff

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2012, Official Report, column 808W, on public bodies, how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by each public body he has abolished in the last full year of its operation.

Elizabeth Truss: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			 Last full year of operation Organisation Average FTE FTE as at 31st March 
			 2010-11 British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) 184 11 
			 2011-12 Training and Development Agency (TDA) 282 235 
			 2011-12 Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) 157 128 
			 2011-12 General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) 168 133 
			 2011-12 National College for School Leadership (NCSL) 268 243 
			 2011-12 Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) 524 498 
			 2011-12 Partnership for Schools (PfS) 167 135 
			 2010-11 Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) 470 336 
		
	
	As a result of the arm’s length bodies programme, since May 2010 the total staff numbers across the Department and it's arm’s length bodies excluding it's non-ministerial departments Ofqual and Ofsted have reduced by around 26% or 1,902 FTEs (from 7,350 to 5,448 in July 2012).

Schools: Sports

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to provide support for long-term sports funding in schools in York following the London 2012 Olympics.

Edward Timpson: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has provided the following additional funding for school sport in 20012-13:
	PE teacher release: £32,500,000
	Disability sport: £300,000
	Volunteer leaders and coaches: £1,000,000
	Young Ambassadors: £250,000
	Total: £34,050,000
	This funding covers state schools in England. Schools in York are able to benefit from this investment.

Schools: Uniforms

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many complaints his Department has received about the cost of school uniforms in (a) academies, (b) free schools and (c) maintained schools in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what guidance he has issued to schools on ensuring that uniform policies are affordable for all parents;
	(3)  if he will make it his policy that all schools ensure that their school uniform is available from multiple sources;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the recommendations of the Office of Fair Trading's report, entitled Supply of School Uniforms, published in August 2012;
	(5)  what estimate he has made of the number of schools converting to academies and free schools which have changed school uniform as a result of their conversion;
	(6)  what recent estimate he has made of the average cost of school uniforms in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools;
	(7)  what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) value of grants paid out by each local education authority to help parents with the cost of purchasing school uniforms in each of the last five financial years.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department has received 123 pieces of correspondence relating to school uniform since 1 September 2011. Correspondence data are not recorded in such a way that it is possible to identify how many of these were complaints about the cost of uniform.
	Responsibility for school uniform policy rests with the governing body or the academy trust, including how the uniform should be sourced. The governing body should be able to demonstrate to parents how best value has been achieved and keep the cost of uniform under review. The Department has published non-statutory school uniform guidance on its website at:
	www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/schoolethos/b0014144/schooluniform
	That guidance clearly states that when considering their school uniform policy, governing bodies should give ‘high priority’ to cost considerations, and no school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling socially excluded. The Department does not collect information about whether schools which have adopted a new uniform on conversion to academy status, about the costs of school uniform, or about the number and value of grants paid by local authorities to help parents with the cost of school uniform.

University Technical Colleges

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  when the next application process for university technical colleges will open;
	(2)  whether applicants to establish a university technical college who are rejected are permitted to bid again; and what time limits apply;
	(3)  how many applications to establish university technical colleges his Department has rejected.

Elizabeth Truss: The new application round for University Technical Colleges is open, and the deadline for applications is Friday 16 November.
	Applicants who have previously been unsuccessful are welcome to apply again. About half of the 15 applications which were successful in the most recent round were from groups which had applied previously. Timings are the same as for groups which have not previously applied.
	In the round which concluded in May 2012, 12 applications were hot successful. In the round which concluded in October 2011, 24 applications were not successful.

Young People: Business

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many state schools are involved in the Young Enterprise scheme nationally;
	(2)  how many schoolchildren are involved in Young Enterprise scheme (a) nationally and (b) in North Swindon constituency.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not collect this information.
	The Government's commitment to schools is to remove prescription and provide greater freedom and autonomy so that teaching can be creative and innovative. Schools can use a range of providers to help them do this, including, among others, Young Enterprise.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Aerials: Planning Permission

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to simplify and speed up the process for planning applications for mobile telephone masts.

Nicholas Boles: holding answer 11 September 2012
	The National Planning Policy Framework is a major step forward in simplifying the planning process and we are already seeing evidence of more positive decision-taking.
	The Government want to cut back on unnecessary information and is consulting on 'Streamlining information requirements for planning applications', consultation closed 11 September 2012.
	On 6 September 2012, the Government announced a series of additional measures to remove unnecessary bureaucracy. This includes working with mobile operators, local government and other interested parties to consider ways that the planning process might be streamlined to speed up the deployment of mobile infrastructure.

Affordable Housing: Haringey

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes for (a) social rent and (b) intermediate or low-cost home ownership were built in the London Borough of Haringey in each year since 2001.

Mark Prisk: Statistics on the provision of affordable housing supply by local authority are published in the Department's live tables 1006, 1007 and 1008, which are available at the following link.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/affordablehousingsupply/livetables/
	These statistics show additional affordable housing provided for social rent, intermediate affordable housing and all affordable housing but include both new build and acquisition or refurbishment of existing dwellings. Affordable housing statistics that focus solely on the new-build component are not published at the local authority level but the following table shows how many affordable homes for social rent and intermediate or low-cost home ownership were built in the London borough of Haringey in each year since 2001.
	
		
			 New build affordable homes for social rent, intermediate rent and low-cost home ownership for the London borough of Haringey 
			 new build 
			  Social rent Intermediate rent Low cost home ownership All affordable 
			 2001-02 120 0 30 150 
			 2002-03 90 0 10 100 
			 2003-04 220 0 80 300 
			 2004-05 140 0 60 200 
			 2005-06 220 0 230 450 
			 2006-07 90 0 140 240 
			 2007-08 100 0 170 280 
			 2008-09 100 40 110 250 
			 2009-10 130 20 80 230 
			 2010-11 140 20 30 180 
			 Notes: 1. Figures compiled from the Homes and Communities Agency's administrative data and local authority returns (the Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix, the P2 return and the P1B return). 2. Estimates for 2010-11 revised in January 2012 to reflect data changes made as a result of local authority representations on the provisional allocations for the New Homes Bonus. Final 2010-11 Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix data (as published 30 November 2011) were also incorporated. 3. Includes homes where the cost is met by a private developer (e.g. Section 106 agreements). 4. New dwellings are shown by the local authority in which they are located which occasionally differs from the sponsoring authority. 5. Figures shown represent our best estimate and may be subject to revisions. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 and therefore totals may not sum due to rounding. 
		
	
	From 1 April 2012, the Mayor of London has had oversight of strategic housing, regeneration and economic development in London. The Mayor's housing strategy proposes to provide 55,000 new affordable homes in London over the current spending review period, as part of the national programme of delivering 170,000 new affordable homes across England.

Arson

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the change was in the annual number of incidences of deliberate fires in each fire authority area in England and Wales in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 5 September 2012
	The changes in the number of deliberate fire incidents attended by fire and rescue authority area are shown in the table for: (a) 2009-10 to 2010-11 and (b) 2010-11 to 2011-12. While the Department's responsibility is for England, figures for Wales are also shown as requested.
	
		
			  Change in deliberate fires 
			 Fire and rescue authority area 2009-10 to 2010-11 2010-11 to 2011-12 
			 England   
			 Avon -398 -143 
			 Bedfordshire -187 114 
			 Berkshire -50 -74 
			 Buckinghamshire -122 -155 
			 Cambridgeshire -579 124 
			 Cheshire -217 -262 
			 Cleveland -1,450 467 
			 Cornwall -8 60 
			 Cumbria -158 -283 
			 Derbyshire -362 100 
			 Devon and Somerset 112 -165 
			 Dorset -60 -115 
			 Durham -172 148 
			 East Sussex -253 47 
			 Essex -643 102 
			 Gloucestershire 102 -15 
			 Greater London 103 142 
			 Greater Manchester -579 -2,173 
			 Hampshire -133 -98 
			 Hereford and Worcester -5 213 
			 Hertfordshire -55 -3 
			 Humberside -641 -249 
			 Isle of Wight -33 -1 
			 Isles of Scilly 1 -1 
			 Kent -530 384 
			 Lancashire -190 -968 
			 Leicestershire -540 176 
			 Lincolnshire -136 -45 
			 Mersey side -1,054 -922 
			 Norfolk -239 -17 
			 North Yorkshire -175 -66 
			 Northamptonshire -1,023 149 
			 Northumberland 86 16 
			 Nottinghamshire -464 480 
			 Oxfordshire -74 3 
			 Shropshire -91 214 
			 South Yorkshire -573 875 
			 Staffordshire 246 138 
			 Suffolk -63 -205 
			 Surrey -124 -52 
			 Tyne and Wear -358 -59 
		
	
	
		
			 Warwickshire -132 179 
			 West Midlands -58 982 
			 West Sussex -106 261 
			 West Yorkshire -1,518 -676 
			 Wiltshire -105 -77 
			    
			 Wales   
			 North Wales -99 -62 
			 Mid and West Wales 452 -860 
			 South Wales 1,035 -2,745 
			 Source: Fire Statistics Monitor, Department for Communities and Local Government 
		
	
	There were 116,000 deliberate fires attended by the fire and rescue authorities in England in 2011-12. This is 1% lower than in 2010-11 and 60% lower than 10 years ago.
	There were 27,200 incidents of arson reported to the police in England in 2011-12. This is 7% lower than in 2010-11 and 55% lower than 10 years ago.

Bellwin Scheme

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  which local authorities have received funding under the Bellwin scheme for flood and recovery efforts following the summer flooding events in 2012; and how much funding each such local authority received;
	(2)  how much has been paid to local authorities under the Bellwin scheme for clean-up and recovery work following the summer flooding events in 2012.

Brandon Lewis: To date the Department has not received any formal local authority claims under the Bellwin scheme set up in response to the summer flooding events in 2012. This is not unexpected as the period for eligible spending for the July floods scheme only ended on 12 September 2012. The deadline for local authorities to submit claims for this scheme is 12 October 2012.

Broadband: Planning Permission

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what arrangements he plans to put in place following proposed changes to broadband cabinet planning requirements to hear objections to the construction of broadband cabinets;
	(2)  when the change in requirements for planning permission for broadband cabinets will come into effect;
	(3)  what requirements broadband providers will have to take account of the local environment and community under proposed new planning requirements for broadband cabinets.

Nicholas Boles: We will be consulting shortly on the proposed changes to broadband infrastructure planning requirements. Any legislative changes needed, will be brought in as soon as possible.

Child Protection

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the troubled families unit plans to develop good practice guidance in relation to families where there are serious concerns about neglect.

Brandon Lewis: The troubled families unit is looking at what works most effectively to address the problems troubled families face and we are working with the Department for Education to strengthen work with troubled families where there are child protection issues, including concerns about child neglect.
	Professional training materials on child neglect, commissioned by the Department for Education have been available on their website since June. The Department for Education are in the process of revising statutory guidance in this area to give local areas more freedom to organise their services in a way that meets local need, and to enable practitioners to focus on the individual needs of each child. The troubled families team will continue to work closely with the Department for Education in this area.

Complementary Medicine

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has made an assessment of trends in the number of Chinese medicine shops in the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: No such assessment has been made by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Electric Cables

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of electrical fires caused by counterfeit or falsely marked electrical cabling in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: The information on causes of fire provided by fire and rescue authorities to the Department does not include whether cabling was counterfeit or falsely marked.

Fire Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether his Department has made an assessment of the recommendation by the Association of Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Authorities for a flat-rate reduction to all fire services;
	(2)  if he will consider implementing the recommendations by the Association of Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Authorities for a flat-rate reduction to all fire services;
	(3)  what plans the Government have to ensure fairness in its planned reductions to regional fire services.

Brandon Lewis: On 17 July the Government published the Technical Consultation on Business Rates Retention detailing proposals for local authority funding from 2013-14. Responses are welcomed from all fire and rescue authorities by the closing date of 24 September. All representations, including those from the Association of Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Authorities, will be considered before final decisions are made.

Floods: Finance

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate his Department has made of the clean-up and recovery costs to local authorities arising from summer flooding events in 2012.

Brandon Lewis: Local authorities that apply for emergency financial assistance under the Bellwin scheme provide information on the costs associated with the immediate response to a flood to protect lives and properties in their area. However, we do not routinely collect information on the wider costs of clean up and recovery for local authorities following a flood.

Green Belt

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what his policy is on the extent to which local authorities may relax existing green belt boundary rules in order to support new housing;
	(2)  whether he has any plans to bring forward legislative proposals in respect of green belt land.

Nicholas Boles: The green belt is an important protection against urban sprawl, providing a ‘green lung’ around towns and cities. The National Planning Policy Framework delivers the coalition agreement to safeguard green belt. The framework makes clear that openness and permanence are essential characteristics of the green belt, and boundaries should only be altered in exceptional circumstances. Any changes to green belt boundaries must be made through the local plan process, which involves consultation with local people and formal examination in public. The Government have no plans to bring forward legislative proposals in respect of green belt land.

Local Government Finance

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect on jobs and services of the ending of transitional funding for local authorities.

Brandon Lewis: Issues such as transitional funding will be considered as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2013-14, and we are happy to receive representations from local authorities on this matter.
	Our reforms to local government finance are fundamentally about encouraging local authorities to promote local economic growth.
	By contrast, the local government finance system has previously encouraged a sense of dependency; councils have competed with themselves in a race to the bottom—to present themselves as more deprived than their neighbours in order to get more handouts from Whitehall.
	Our reforms on local business rate retention could deliver an estimated £10 billion boost to the wider economy over the next seven years. This will help create and support local jobs, and provide more revenues to support front-line services across the whole country.
	The economic assessment on which this estimate is based can be found at:
	www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/businessrateseconomic

Local Government Finance

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what population data will be used to calculate local government finance, council tax and business rates from 2013 onwards.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 17 September 2012
	We are currently consulting on the technical detail of the new business rate retention scheme to be introduced from 2013-14, including on which population data to use. The consultation can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/businessratestechnical

Local Government: Referendums

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he is required to give his approval before a local referendum can be held by a district council.

Brandon Lewis: District councils do not need the Secretary of State’s approval to hold local referendums, which either they can hold at their discretion or in certain circumstances they are required to do so by statute.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties have been bought under the NewBuy Guarantee scheme; and what estimate he has made of the number of properties which will be bought in each of the next 10 years.

Mark Prisk: Statistics, including the total number of properties sold under the NewBuy Guarantee scheme as at 30 June 2012, will be made publicly available on Thursday 27 September and will be published on the DCLG website in the form of an official statistical release.
	The scheme is run by the Home Builders Federation and is demand led. It is not possible to accurately estimate future annual sales.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of construction jobs created by the NewBuy Guarantee scheme since its introduction.

Mark Prisk: The Government are committed to reviewing the NewBuy Guarantee scheme in 2014. This review will include an assessment of the number of additional homes built and jobs supported by the scheme.
	The Home Builders Federation has estimated that at least 25,000 additional new homes will be built in total as a direct result of NewBuy. This number of new homes would support up to 50,000 additional jobs.

Child Care

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many child care places his Department provides on its estate; what the cost is of providing such places; how many such places his Department provided in 2010; what the cost was of providing such places in 2010; what plans he has for changes in the provision of such childcare places; and what the number of places will be once any such changes have been implemented.

Brandon Lewis: The Department does not provide any child care places to its staff on its estate. DCLG assists its staff with child care costs by providing a child care vouchers scheme and enabling staff to join a child care salary sacrifice scheme.

Olympic Games 2012

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department used the Olympic Route Network for travel for official purposes during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will publish details of Government use of tickets and hospitality in the autumn. This will include use of transport services which operated on the Olympic or Paralympic route networks.

Pensioners: Council Tax Benefits

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what account he takes of local pensioner numbers in West Sussex in the way he allocates council tax benefit support grant.

Brandon Lewis: The localisation of council tax support is an important welfare reform that will help tackle the budget deficit that we have inherited from the last Administration, and provide stronger incentives to get people back to work and promote local economic growth.
	We have protected pensioners from any change as they have fixed incomes and cannot reasonably be expected to go back to work. Pensioners who have saved and worked hard all their lives deserve dignity and security in retirement.
	The proposed distribution of funding for council tax support is based on shares of previous expenditure on council tax benefit, including shares of expenditure on pension age claimants. The recent consultation, ‘Localising Support for Council Tax—Funding Arrangements Consultation’, sets out how the Government intends to distribute funding to support local schemes and seeks views on possible adjustments to allocations to avoid potential budgetary pressures in a few authorities. The consultation closed on 12 July, and the Government response will be published in the autumn.

Planning Permission

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions he has had with the Local Government Association on planning reforms; and if he will make a statement.

Nicholas Boles: Details of Ministers' meetings with external organisations can be found online at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/transparencyingovernment/ministerialdata/

Public Houses

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to assist community pubs; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: My Department is taking the following steps to assist community pubs:
	The Assets of Community Value Regulations implementing the Community Right to Bid provisions of the Localism Act 2011 will, later in the year, subject to parliamentary approval give communities a fairer chance to bid to take over local assets of community value, including pubs;
	We have launched a £19 million support programme to help eligible community organisations to take on the community ownership and management of assets that are important to them, including pubs;
	The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that to deliver the social, recreational and cultural facilities that communities need, planning policies and decisions should provide for the use of such facilities, including pubs, and guard against their unnecessary loss;
	We are assisting firms with business rates: the Localism Act helps make small business rate relief automatic; we have doubled small business rate relief scheme from October 2010 to March 2013; and we have given councils powers to levy discretionary business rate discounts—which could, for example, be used to support local community pubs; and
	In addition, the Government has scrapped the last Administration's plans for a 10% rise in cider duties (the so-called cider tax).
	Pubs have benefited from the greater flexibility on weights and measures announced in January 2011, allowing beer and wine to be sold in different sizes than was previously allowed by regulations.
	In November 2011, the Government announced a package of measures to strengthen the Industry Code to improve the relationship between pub companies and their licensees; these reforms will increase transparency, improve dispute resolution and provide more legal certainty for licensees.
	The Live Music Act 2012 will shortly make it easier for pubs to play live music.
	We are seeking to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol. This will tackle unfair competition and loss-leading by some shops, without adversely affecting the price of a pint in a pub.
	As part of the ‘focus on enforcement of regulation’ initiative launched in July 2012, we have been consulting on how we can reduce over-zealous regulation of pubs.
	Pubs are among the businesses which will benefit from the proposed exemption in unnecessary health and safety inspections announced on 10 September 2012.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on the evidence required for an individual to be treated as a Traveller for the purposes of planning law.

Brandon Lewis: It is for each local authority to determine what evidence they require to satisfy themselves that a person is a Traveller. My Department does not prescribe on such matters. Requirements for evidence made by a local authority should, however, correspond with the definition of Gypsies and Travellers set out in annex 1 of planning policy for traveller sites, published in March 2012.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Overseas Aid

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 11 September 2012, Official Report, column 217W, on overseas aid, how many applications to the Aid Match scheme from charities in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland were (i) received, (ii) successful and (iii) appealed against.

Lynne Featherstone: 24 applications were received from charities in England. Of these, 15 were successful and three remain under consideration.
	One application was received from a charity in Northern Ireland, which was successful.
	No applications were received from charities in Wales or Scotland.
	Feedback is provided to unsuccessful applicants, but all decisions are final. There is no appeals process.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether all local broadband plans have been approved.

Edward Vaizey: All local broadband plans that have been submitted to Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) have been approved, but three project areas have to date not submitted a local broadband plan; these are North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sandwell.

Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what stage each local authority has reached in delivering its broadband plans.

Edward Vaizey: The following table provides the breakdown of the local broadband projects progress.
	
		
			 Project phase Projects 
			 Completed procurement Wales, North Yorkshire, Rutland, Lancashire, Surrey 
			 In procurement Wiltshire, Devon & Somerset, Norfolk, Suffolk, Highland and Islands, Cambridgeshire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, Cumbria, Oxfordshire 
			 In preparation for procurement (to be completed by mid-2013) Kent, Lincolnshire, Hampshire, Shropshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, Cheshire, West Sussex, Dorset, Durham, Warwickshire, Northumberland, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire, East Sussex, Nottinghamshire, Isle of Wight, Berkshire, North Lincolnshire, Worcestershire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Liverpool City Region, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Central Bedfordshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, Essex, Greater Manchester, Newcastle, Northamptonshire , Rest of Scotland, Northern Ireland 
			 No local broadband plan submitted North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sandwell

Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether any local broadband plans approved by her Department forecast an underspend compared with the funding allocations announced for each local authority in August 2011.

Edward Vaizey: To date, no local broadband teams have forecast an underspend in their local broadband plans or for their projects.

Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much she has allocated to each local authority and each of the devolved administrations to incentivise the roll-out of superfast broadband.

Edward Vaizey: The funding allocations were published by the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) in August 2011 and can be found on the DCMS website at the following link:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/telecommunications_and_online/7763.aspx

Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the name is of each contractor with which Broadband Delivery UK has agreed contracts; and what the value is of each contract.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has entered into framework agreements for broadband delivery with suppliers British Tele- communications plc and Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Ltd. Local authorities in the UK are able to call off contracts for their broadband projects from the framework agreements, and these are estimated to have a total value of between £750 million and £2 billion.

Broadband

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how much new fibre has been laid as part of the Super-Connected Cities programme;
	(2)  what progress has been made on phase 1 of the super-connected cities programme;
	(3)  how much was awarded to each of the super- connected cities as part of phase 1 of that programme;
	(4)  how many households she expects will receive ultra-fast broadband by 2015 as a result of the super-connected cities programme.

Edward Vaizey: Following the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement of £100 million for Phase 1 of the Super-Connected Cities programme in the autumn statement, 29 November 2011, Official Report, columns 799-819, the 14 eligible cities submitted outline proposals in February 2012. These were assessed and ranges of allocations were announced for the four capitals and six other winning cities in the Budget 2012. The detailed plans of the 10 cities chosen were submitted in August 2012 and are being assessed. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), will announce shortly the final funding to be awarded to each of the Phase 1 cities.
	Successful procurement and delivery of all the projects to be supported under Phase 1 of the Super-Connected Cities programme, up until March 2015, will provide access to new ultrafast and wireless broadband connectivity to a significant number of residential premises and businesses. Detailed information on the additional connectivity to be provided by cities under the programme will not be finalised until decisions on the funding awarded to the successful cities has been agreed.
	Furthermore, additional ultrafast and wireless broadband connectivity will result from city plans under Phase 2 of the programme (with a further £50 million funding aimed at smaller cities) details of which will be available once the Phase 2 cities have submitted their plans later this month. A decision on the funding to be awarded to the successful Phase 2 cities will be announced later in the autumn.

Broadband

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to expedite the rollout of 4G mobile spectrum.

Edward Vaizey: These issues are a matter for Ofcom, the independent regulator. My officials have contacted Ofcom who have supplied the following information.
	On 21 August 2012 Ofcom announced that it had approved an application by the mobile phone operator Everything Everywhere (EE) to use its existing 1,800 MHz spectrum to deliver 4G services (LTE and WiMAX). In parallel with this decision, Ofcom issued varied licences to EE which authorise 4G services from 11 September 2012. This means that EE can launch 4G services using its 1,800 MHz spectrum at any point from that date, although the precise timing of any launch is a commercial decision for Everything Everywhere.
	On 24 July Ofcom published its statement on the auction of 4G spectrum licences in the 800 MHz and 2,600 MHz bands. Ofcom remain on schedule for the auction process for the spectrum at 800 MHz and 2,600 MHz to start by the end of 2012. This is compatible with the spectrum becoming available to allow successful bidders to start rolling out 4G services in these bands.

Broadband

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2012, Official Report, column 1089W, on radio frequencies, what steps she is taking to minimise the interference Freeview viewers are expected to notice after the rollout of 4G services.

Edward Vaizey: On 10 July I wrote to Ed Richards, chief executive of Ofcom, setting out the assistance that 800MHz licensees should be required to provide TV viewers who suffer interference from 4G mobile services. Ofcom included these requirements in the statement and Information Memorandum which they published on 24 July:
	http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/award-800mhz/statement/IM.pdf

Mobile Phones

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when she expects contracts for the Mobile Infrastructure Project to be put out to tender.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has made good progress with the Mobile Infrastructure Project procurement process, launched in April 2012. DCMS has five shortlisted potential providers and expects to issue them with the invitation to tender in the next few weeks.

Mobile Phones

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when her Department expects to receive state aid clearance for the Mobile Infrastructure Project.

Edward Vaizey: The Government are discussing the Mobile Infrastructure Project with the European Commission and hope to receive state aid clearance to its procurement timetable.

Mobile Phones

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many mobile network operators have informed her Department that they do not wish to participate in the Mobile Infrastructure Project.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport continues to engage fully with all of the mobile network operators. To date one of those operators, Hutchison 3G, has indicated that they are not yet in a position to commit to the Mobile Infrastructure Project.

Mobile Phones

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport to how many households she expects the Mobile Infrastructure Project to extend coverage.

Edward Vaizey: In the Budget, the Government announced that the Department would extend mobile coverage to 60,000 rural premises and along at least 10 key roads by 2015. The final roll-out will take account of two important factors, the value for money of the interventions and the number of people who will benefit. Due to the complex nature of the process for building mobile phone infrastructure these factors will be determined together with the Mobile Infrastructure Project Supplier.

Sheffield

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which (a) hon. Members and (b) police officers the then Minister for Sport, Colin Moynihan, met in Sheffield on 15 April 1989; and which officials accompanied the Minister.

Hugh Robertson: Documents relevant to Hillsborough, held by the Department, have been made available to the Hillsborough Independent Panel and published on their website at:
	http://hillsborough.independent.gov.uk
	Documents available at this website, such as the witness statement of Chief Supt. Brian Mole:
	http://hillsborough.independent.gov.uk/repository/docs/HOM000001670001.pdf
	show that Lord Moynihan travelled to Sheffield on 15 April 1989. Chief Supt. Brian Mole states that Lord Moynihan was accompanied by Chief Supt. Duckenfield. He was then shown the scene by the chief constable, other officers and himself. There are no documents which name any officials who travelled with him, or any hon. Members, or complete lists of police officers he met.
	The document available at:
	http://hillsborough.independent.gov.uk/repository/docs/COO000001060001.pdf
	shows that the planned attendees for meetings on 16 April 1989 were (a) the Prime Minister and Home Secretary and (b) Det. Supt. Butler, Det. Chief Inspector Dwyer and Chief Constable Peter Wright, in case this is of interest. In addition, a photograph on page 185 of the Panel's report
	http://hillsborough.independent.gov.uk/repository/report/HIP_report.pdf
	shows further attendees, with Lord Moynihan present, though obscured in the image.

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the expected in-service date is for the aircraft carrier HMS (a) Queen Elizabeth and (b) Prince of Wales.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 17 September 2012
	Following the decision to revert to a STOVL design, announced by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), on 10 May 2012, Official Report, column 140, we are currently reviewing the QEC programme to develop revised programme estimates which will be subject to re-approval by the Ministry of Defence in due course. In the Strategic Defence and Security Review the Government committed to delivering Britain's future Carrier Strike capability from around 2020, based around the new Queen Elizabeth Class carrier and the new Joint Strike Fighter. We remain fully committed to achieving that.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what support is made available to members of the armed forces who have reported (a) rape and (b) sexual assault; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what support and counselling services are available to members of the armed forces who report (a) rape and (b) sexual assault; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: Members of the armed forces who report a rape or sexual assault incident have access to the same services (or equivalent services if serving overseas) that are available to those in a civilian environment. In addition, there is an extensive network of single service support available (for example, welfare officers, local support officers, the individual's commanding officer) and that includes support through partner agencies where required.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) civilian staff and (b) armed force personnel have been discharged from each of the three services and reserve forces following conviction in a civilian court for (i) rape and (ii) sexual assault in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Miriam Maes

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) Ministers, (b) officials and (c) special advisers in his Department have met Miriam Maes on official business since May 2010.

Mark Francois: We have no records of Ministers or special advisers having met Miriam Maes on official business since May 2010.
	Information about officials is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Olympic Games 2012

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department used the Olympic route network for travel for official purposes during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Mark Francois: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will publish details of Government use of tickets and hospitality in the autumn. This will include use of transport services which operated on the Olympic or Paralympic route networks.

Shipbuilding

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the decision to be made on whether to build two new offshore patrol vessels in Portsmouth.

Philip Dunne: The purchase of new offshore patrol vessels is not currently in the core programme.

Trident

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effect he expects the replacement of the nuclear deterrent to have on jobs and business.

Philip Dunne: The Main Gate decision for the Successor programme is not due until 2016. It is therefore too early to assess fully the effect the replacement of the nuclear deterrent will have on jobs and business. Should the Successor programme achieve Main Gate approval, and proceed to production, it will sustain thousands of jobs across the UK submarine industry, including businesses at all levels of the submarine supply chain.

Type 26 Frigates

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the decision to be made on whether to build the new Type 26 frigates in Portsmouth.

Philip Dunne: The Type 26 Global Combat Ship programme is currently in its assessment phase, with the results of this phase due by the middle of this decade, following which the main investment decision is expected to be made. The build location of the vessels will be confirmed after the main investment decision point.

Visits Abroad

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many foreign visits he and Ministers in his Department have made since April 2012; and in each case which countries were visited and what the (a) purpose, (b) method of travel and (c) cost to the public purse was of the visit.

Mark Francois: holding answer 17 September 2012
	Details of Ministers’ and the most senior officials’ overseas travel are published on a quarterly basis and can be accessed on the MOD website at:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/FinancialReports/Expenses
	The information for April-June 2012 will be published shortly.

JUSTICE

Burglary

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will review sentencing guidelines for burglars; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: Sentencing guidelines are a matter for the independent Sentencing Council. In 2011, the council consulted on revised guidelines for burglary offences. The revised guidelines came into effect on 16 January 2012 and apply to all cases sentenced on or after that date. The guidelines place a renewed emphasis on the impact of burglaries on victims, ensuring that they are of primary concern in the sentencing process. The guidelines reinforce current sentencing practice, which means that offenders committing domestic burglaries can expect a custodial sentence.

Civil Disorder: Greater London

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department has taken to identify the causes of the public disorder of August 2011 in London to prevent any recurrence of such disorder.

Brandon Lewis: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	Immediately after the August 2011 disturbances, the Government established the Riots, Victims and Communities Panel to investigate the causes of the riots and to consider what could be done to build greater social and economic resilience in communities.
	The Panel published its final report on 28 May 2012 and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), made a written ministerial statement to Parliament on 13 July 2012, Official Report, columns 74-78WS, in response. That statement set out the measures the Government and other agencies have put in place to rebuild communities following the riots. It also set out the actions that the Government is taking forward to address some of the more entrenched issues highlighted in the Panel's report.

Community Orders: Vale of Clwyd

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many community payback schemes have taken place in Vale of Clwyd constituency in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The community payback scheme is currently delivered by 35 probation trusts covering England and Wales. The number of community payback work projects undertaken by each probation trust is not recorded by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). Wales Probation Trust has been able to provide data for the period from April 2009 to March 2012.
	During this period 822 community payback work projects were undertaken in the county of Denbighshire, with in excess of 80% of these undertaken in the Vale of Clwyd constituency. In the year 2011-12, 192 offenders resident in Denbighshire were sentenced to community payback. During the same period, 29,373 community payback hours were worked in the county, the majority of which would have taken place in the Vale of Clwyd constituency. A snapshot survey of community payback undertaken by NOMS during March 2011 showed that approaching 5,000 individual community payback work projects are operated each month across England and Wales.

Domestic Violence

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average waiting time was between charge and first court appearance for offences related to domestic violence in the last year for which figures are available; and what the average (a) length of time overall for the prosecution of offences relating to domestic violence and (b) number of adjournments granted for cases related to domestic violence was (i) in London and (ii) nationally in each of the last five years.

Helen Grant: Data held centrally on the Ministry of Justice administrative data systems do not include information about all the circumstances behind each case other than which may be identified from a statute. Therefore, it is not possible to specifically identify offences related to domestic violence from other offences of violence against the person.

Peterborough Prison

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to facilitate the timely removal of foreign prisoners from HMP Peterborough; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: MoJ is working hard to reduce the foreign national offender (FNO) population in the UK. We are working towards compulsory prisoner transfer agreements with a number of countries and are improving administrative processes and communication with FNOs who are eligible for voluntary return to increase removals this way. We are also developing a more strategic approach to how Government funding is used to improve standards in prisons in our high volume FNO countries, to help facilitate returns to these countries.
	Reducing the FNO population in the UK is a key priority for the Government. The UK has PTAs with over 100 countries and territories, most of which are voluntary and require the prisoner's consent to transfer. However, as part of our strategy to reduce the FNO population, we are seeking to negotiate more compulsory PTAs, which will not require the consent of the prisoner to transfer, with our high volume FNO countries.
	In addition to this we are working to reduce the flow of FNOs into the criminal justice system through the use of conditional cautions; and reduce the number of FNOs already serving prison sentences through the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS).
	FNOs in HMP Peterborough are not subject to any special consideration when facilitating removals beyond that of any other foreign national in our prisons. All FNOs are referred to UKBA for consideration for deportation.

Sentencing

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to ensure the safety of the public through sentencing policy.

Jeremy Wright: Our sentencing framework provides courts with the powers to punish offenders appropriately. Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts. But we are clear that, in order to protect the public, violent and dangerous offenders must expect long prison sentences.

Sentencing

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to ensure that sentences handed down for crimes involving the sale of illicit alcohol and tobacco provide an effective deterrent.

Jeremy Wright: I am satisfied that the maximum penalties available for the relevant offences give the courts sufficient powers to deal with the cases which come before them. Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts, and they will follow sentencing guidelines.

Metal Theft

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what advice or guidance has been given to judges and magistrates on the aggravation in sentencing where the offence involves the theft of metal which either causes disruption to services or results in a significant sentimental loss to a community.

Jeremy Wright: Sentencing guidelines are a matter for the independent Sentencing Council. Both the council's overarching guideline on aggravating and mitigating factors and its guideline on theft states that courts should consider both the financial and sentimental impact of offences when considering the harm caused. Guidelines provide non-exhaustive lists of common aggravating and mitigating factors, and courts retain wide discretion to treat particular circumstances of individual cases as aggravating factors. Crown Prosecution Service guidance to prosecutors requires them to highlight the full facts of a case, actively obtaining information on the impact and effect of such thefts which may go far wider than the direct loss or damage caused, allowing the courts to sentence appropriately.

Youth Offending Teams

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff posts have been abolished in youth offending teams in the last 12 months.

Jeremy Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Glenrothes (Lindsay Roy).

TREASURY

Air Passenger Duty

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total revenue collected from air passenger duty was in each year since 1 April 1995; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: The total revenues from air passenger duty (APD) for each financial year from 1995-96 to 2011-12 are set out as follows.
	
		
			 Financial year Total receipts (£ million) 
			 1995-96 343 
			 1996-97 356 
			 1997-98 493 
			 1998-99 837 
			 1999-2000 882 
			 2000-01 948 
			 2001-02 806 
			 2002-03 816 
			 2003-04 791 
			 2004-05 864 
			 2005-06 905 
			 2006-07 971 
			 2007-08 1,994 
			 2008-09 1,862 
			 2009-10 1,856 
			 2010-11 2,155 
			 2011-12 2,607 
		
	
	HMRC publishes data on APD passenger numbers and revenues online, at:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutyBulletins.aspx

Minimum Wage

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many national minimum wage enforcement actions have been taken against employers in each region of the country since the introduction of the national minimum wage.

David Gauke: HMRC does not record the outcome of its minimum wage investigations by government region. The following tables provide these figures nationally.
	For the period from 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2009, formal Enforcement Notices were only issued in cases where an employer did not pay arrears on a written request from HMRC. Since 2009, a formal Notice of Underpayment is issued in the majority of cases.
	
		
			 Enforcement notices issued 
			  Number 
			 1999-2000 136 
			 2000-01 213 
			 2001-02 61 
			 2002-03 26 
			 2003-04 45 
			 2004-05 62 
			 2005-06 81 
			 2006-07 71 
			 2007-08 59 
			 2008-09 96 
		
	
	
		
			 Notice of underpayments issued 
			  Number 
			 2009-10 591 
			 2010-11 1,128 
			 2011-12 879 
			 2012-13 (to end of August) 306

Olympic Games 2012

Maria Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department used the Olympic Route Network for travel for official purposes during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Sajid Javid: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will publish details of Government use of tickets and hospitality in the autumn, this will include use of transport services which operated on the Olympic or Paralympic Route Networks.

Public Expenditure

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2012, Official Report, column 522W, on public expenditure, when he will publish the full details of plans and outturn for all Departments for 2011-12.

Danny Alexander: Each Government Department publishes details of their out-turn compared with plans for 2011-12 in their annual report and accounts. Each departmental annual report is laid in Parliament and published on the relevant departmental website.

Railways: Fares

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has considered using the revenue budget underspend in the financial year 2012-13 in the Department for Transport estimates to offset the rise in rail fares in January 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: This Government recognise the concern about the rising cost of living and has taken action to support households—we cut Fuel Duty last year and it will have been frozen for 21 months. We have also helped those in work by raising the Personal Allowance by £1,100 in April 2013—the largest tax cut for the median earner in over a decade. This comes on top of council tax freezes and a reduction in rail fare caps in 2012.
	The Government monitors the cost of living closely and keeps all policy options under review.

Taxation

Charles Walker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will meet representatives of the No to Retro Tax campaign to discuss the retrospective application of section 58 of the Finance Act 2008;
	(2)  what representations he has received from those affected by the retrospective application of section 58 of the Finance Act 2008.

David Gauke: Representations have been received from users of the wholly artificial tax avoidance scheme affected by section 58 seeking repeal either of section 58 of the Finance Act 2008, or of its retrospective elements.
	There are no plans for Treasury Ministers to meet with representatives of the No to Retro Tax campaign.

Taxation: Rates and Rating

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the exchequer of reducing the 45% income tax band to (a) 40% and (b) 38%.

David Gauke: The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced at Budget 2012 that the additional rate of tax on income over £150,0.00 will be 45% from April 2013.
	(a) The cost of reducing the additional rate from 45% to 40% is estimated to be around £600 million per year.
	(b) The theoretical cost of reducing the additional rate from 45% to 38% is estimated to be around £1,100 million per year.
	A 38% rate would result in an additional rate lower than the 40% higher rate of income tax. This would result in marginal tax rates falling when income is over £150,000.
	HMRC’s Report "The Exchequer effect of the 50% additional rate of income tax" presents the evidence and expected Exchequer impact of changing the additional rate.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendations of the National Audit Office report, Central Government's implementation of the national compact.

Sajid Javid: holding answer 13 September 2012
	Although HM Treasury is not a delivery Department, and the focus of its role is ensuring that Departments deliver on the Government's objectives and provide value for money in the delivery of services, we do engage with the sector, including in the areas of social finance and, working with HMRC, charity tax.
	As with all Government Departments HM Treasury is signed up and committed to the principles of the civil society compact, as stated in our most recently published business plan. Steps have included: the appointment of a senior responsible officer within the department to help provide strategic oversight and to improve awareness of compact principles in respect to consultations, and; the strengthening of complaint handling procedures for dealing with compact related concerns.

VAT

George Eustice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what systems are in place to identify companies that are not VAT-registered and have turnovers over the threshold which requires registration.

David Gauke: The issue of businesses operating over the VAT threshold without registering is one that HMRC takes very seriously. HMRC makes use of a range of initiatives to identify and address this problem including:
	An annual data analysis exercise to identify all businesses that are supplying a tax return declaring turnovers which exceed the VAT threshold but are not registered for VAT
	Extensive research to identify businesses operating within the Hidden Economy i.e. not being registered with HMRC in any capacity
	Information discovered by compliance staff in their day to day activities
	Intelligence from the general public provided via the HMRC Tax Evasion Hotline
	A national campaign launched on 5th July 2011 and titled the “VAT Initiative” gave those trading above the VAT threshold without registration the opportunity to voluntarily put their tax affairs in order and become compliant.

VAT

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses registered for VAT in each of the last three years.

David Gauke: Information on new VAT registrations is available in the VAT Bulletin and Factsheet:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutybulletins.aspx
	The number of new VAT registrations in the last three financial years is:
	
		
			 Financial year New registrations 
			 2009-10 181,039 
			 2010-11 208,341 
			 2011-12 218,663

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Alternative Vote

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister against what criteria the decision to propose to Parliament in 2010 that there should be a referendum on the voting system for elections to the House of Commons was judged; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: The Coalition programme for Government stated the Government's view. It set out the need for:
	“fundamental political reform, including a referendum on electoral reform, much greater co-operation across party lines, and changes to our political system to make it far more transparent and accountable.”

CABINET OFFICE

Military Medals Review

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when the second stage of the Military Medals Review, led by Sir John Holmes, will report; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: Sir John Holmes has started work on the next stage of the Military Medals Review and is expected to complete this phase of the work sometime during the autumn.

Ministers: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance his Department has given to Ministers on the security implications of (a) transporting ministerial boxes and (b) making official telephone calls whilst using taxis or private hire vehicles.

Francis Maude: As was the case under previous Administrations Ministers are given guidance about security in Government business at the time of their appointment.

Newspaper Licensing Agency

Ian Murray: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the cost to the public purse was of the Newspaper Licensing Agency licences for scanned content for each Department in each year since 2010.

Chloe Smith: This information is not collated centrally. Departments and agencies are responsible for ensuring that they hold the appropriate Newspaper Licensing Agency licence.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many places on National Citizen Service schemes were not taken up in 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: National Citizen Service's autumn programmes are due to take place shortly. Updates on attendance of NCS for 2012, will be given when all programmes are complete.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education: Liverpool

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department and its predecessors spent in Liverpool, Walton constituency on adult (a) literacy and (b) numeracy in each year since 1997; and how much he expects his Department to spend in each of the next three years.

Matthew Hancock: holding answer 13 September 2012
	The following table shows the Government's measure of FE and skills funding on literacy and numeracy courses for learners aged 19 and above in Liverpool, Walton constituency, from 2005/06 to 2010/11. Data for 2005/06 are the earliest year for which comparable sub-national data are available. Due to the length of the time series, data is not available on a consistent basis so figures may not be directly comparable.
	
		
			 Table 1: Further education and skills estimated funding on literacy and numeracy courses by learners aged 19+ in Liverpool Walton parliamentary constituency, 2005/06 to 2010/11 
			 £ 
			  2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 Literacy 359,000 489,000 472,000 673,000 463,000 531,000 
			 Numeracy 318,000 438,000 420,000 659,000 473,000 523,000 
			 Notes: 1. Data for 2005/06 includes data for the learner responsive funding stream only. 2. Data for 2006/07 includes data for the learner responsive and apprenticeship funding streams only. 3. Data for 2007/08 and 2008/09 includes data for the learner responsive, apprenticeship and train to gain funding streams only. 4. Data for 2009/10 and 2010/11 includes data for the learner responsive, apprenticeship, train to gain and workplace learning funding streams only. All data excludes community learning. 5. Figures for estimated funding come from the ILR. They should not be treated as actual spend, and are only used to give an indicative view on the proportion of monies spent at each level. 6. Figures relate to learners aged 19 and over and include a small number of learners with an unknown age. Source: Individualised Learner Record

Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to implement the recommendations of the Holt Review; and what timetable and benchmarks he has set for this process.

Matthew Hancock: The Government's response to the Holt review was published on 29 August 2012. A copy was placed in the Libraries of the House and is also available on the BIS website
	http://news.bis.gov.uk/Content/Detail.aspx?ReleaseID=425769&NewsAreaID=2
	I met Mr Holt on 13 September 2012 to discuss his review, and BIS officials are in the process of developing an implementation plan. Mr Holt will remain involved via membership of a new board being created to oversee implementation.
	Actions for the Government and National Apprenticeships Service resulting from the review include working with the people that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) look to for advice, including lawyers and accountants, to promote apprenticeships to their SME customers; providing SMEs with better information on training provision availability; and investigating how to give SMEs greater say in developing the training they need. In addition, we have already improved the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers by making it simpler and more accessible to more employers.

Bankruptcy

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what evidence his Department used to estimate the time currently spent by judges and court staff in dealing with bankruptcy petitions as referred to in the Reform of the Process to Apply for Bankruptcy and Compulsory Winding Up consultation.

Jo Swinson: The estimates of time currently spent by judges and court staff in dealing with bankruptcy petitions in the Reform of the Process to Apply for Bankruptcy and Compulsory Winding Up consultation were based upon information provided by HM Courts and Tribunal Service.

Bankruptcy

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the proposed changes to creditor petitions for bankruptcy on vulnerable individuals who only begin to deal with their debt problems when faced with a court appearance.

Jo Swinson: The consultation document and its associated impact assessment considered the possible impact on all the groups who might be affected by the proposals. The issue of vulnerable debtors has been raised in some of the responses to the consultation. These are being carefully considered. I expect to make an announcement shortly.

Bankruptcy

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how he plans to ensure that the role of the adjudicator as proposed by his Reform of the Process to Apply for Bankruptcy and Compulsory Winding Up consultation remains impartial and independent.

Jo Swinson: The consultation on Reform of the Process to Apply for Bankruptcy and Compulsory Winding proposed that the adjudicator should be located within the Insolvency Service but be separate operationally from the office of the official receiver.
	Responses to the consultation are being carefully considered and I expect to make an announcement shortly.

Bankruptcy

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to his Reform of the Process to Apply for Bankruptcy and Compulsory Winding Up consultation, how creditor petitions for bankruptcy requiring judicial input which would have to be referred back to the Court after the initial administrative process were taken into account when calculating any cost savings.

Jo Swinson: Estimates were provided within the impact assessment that was published with the consultation document as to the proportion of applications in which judicial input would be required. The additional cost in those cases was factored in when coming to an estimate of the cost savings that would result from the new administrative process that was proposed.
	Responses to the consultation are being carefully considered and I expect to make an announcement shortly.

Consumers: Protection

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's consumer protection unit.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) does not operate a consumer protection unit. However, consumer policy is developed within the BIS Consumer and Competition Policy Directorate and is enforced by Trading Standards Departments and the Office of Fair Trading.
	Trading Standards play a critical role in protecting consumers and businesses in their local authority areas, in particular from rogue traders. As part of the consumer landscape reforms, we established the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) which brings together representatives of Trading Standards from England and Wales to prioritise, fund and coordinate national and cross-boundary enforcement cases.
	In Scotland, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has set up a Scottish Consumer Protection National Enforcement Team (SCPNET), which will reduce consumer detriment by putting in place processes to prioritise national and regional enforcement in Scotland. The OFT produces an annual analysis of the benefits to consumers from all of its work, with this year's report showing that over the last three years the OFT achieved an estimated benefit to consumers of at least eight times its cost to the taxpayer.
	See page 5 of the OFT annual report and accounts 2011-12 at
	http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/annual_report/2012/OFT_Annual_Report_and_Resou1.pdf
	It estimates that for the period 2009-12, its consumer protection enforcement work resulted in savings to consumers of an average of £35 million per year, not including wider deterrent effects or other consumer protection work such as education and awareness campaigns.

Cosmetics

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of illegal skin-lightening creams.

Jo Swinson: Skin-lightening products are regulated on a European wide basis under Commission Directive 76/768/EC concerning cosmetic products, transposed in the UK by The Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations 2008. Under these Regulations mercury, potent steroids and hydroquinone have been prohibited for more than 10 years. Local Authority Trading Standards Services are responsible for enforcing consumer product safety legislation and where they uncover evidence of the supply of unlawful skin-lightening products they have removed them from sale. However, such products tend not to be distributed through formal supply channels and are therefore difficult to intercept at ports and airports. We are aware that at least 20 skin whitening products have been reported on the European Rapid Exchange of information about unsafe products (Rapex) in 2012 and Trading Standards will use this information to undertake market surveillance against these products.
	This Department has conducted no campaigns on the issue, but the Department of Health has a web page of information on skin lightening:
	http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/skin/Pages/Skinlightening.aspx
	and the CTPA (Cosmetics, Toiletry and Perfumery Association) also carry an accurate information page.
	http://www.thefactsabout.co.uk/content.asp?menuid= 32&submenuid=136&pageid=136&menuname=Skin+lightening+ products&menu=sub

Effect of UK Equity Markets On the Competitiveness of UK Business Review

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to implement the recommendations of the Kay Review; and what timetable and benchmarks he has set for this process.

Jo Swinson: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable) has welcomed the Kay Review's final report, calling it an important and timely contribution to the discussion of how we achieve equity markets that play a vital part in ensuring we have well run companies providing sustainable returns for investors.
	The Government is currently considering all of Professor Kay's recommendations in depth and looks forward to responding in detail later this year.

Farepak

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department has spent on legal costs in respect of the former directors of Farepak.

Jo Swinson: The Insolvency Service's costs of bringing disqualification proceedings in Farepak and European Home Retail were £909,586.99 since January 2011. These costs were met out of The Service's budget.
	In 2011/2012 1,151 directors were disqualified. Of these 231 disqualification orders were obtained at court and a further 292 undertakings were volunteered and accepted after proceedings were issued at court. In 2010/2011 1,437 directors were disqualified. Of these 287 disqualification orders were obtained at court and a further 343 undertakings were volunteered and accepted after proceedings were issued at court. The Insolvency Service spent £4,968,740 during 2011/2012 on disqualification litigation and legal advice.

Galileo System

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the UK has contributed to the Galileo project to date; how much the UK contributed in the last calendar year; what the estimated completion date is of the project; and what his most recent estimate is of the total cost of the project.

David Willetts: The development phase of the European Union's Galileo satellite navigation programme took place between 2000 and 2007 and was funded through contributions to the European Space Agency (ESA). The UK provided €240.3 million to Galileo through its contributions to ESA. Funding to ESA is provided on a juste retour basis, meaning that contracts equivalent to a member state's contribution, less administration costs, are awarded to companies from within that member state.
	The subsequent work on the Galileo system is funded from the core European Union budget to which all member states contribute. The UK contributes to the EU budget as a whole, not to individual programmes within it. The level of UK contribution to the EU budget depends on a number of factors, and varies from year to year. As a rough indication, the UK's pre-abatement contribution to the 2012 budget is currently estimated at 14.6%. The budget agreed by the European Commission and the member states for the period 2007-13 for the completion of the programme was €3.4 billion.
	The UK has not made any additional contribution to the EU budget in respect of the Galileo programme.
	The European Commission states that initial Galileo services, based on a partial constellation of satellites, will be declared operational in 2014 with the full services declared in 2019/20.
	The European Commission is unable to complete the Galileo system by 2013 for the €3.4 billion budget set in 2007 and has estimated that an additional €1.9 billion is required. This is included in the Commission's proposal for the Galileo programme for the period 2014-20 (€7.9 billion at 2013 prices), which is under negotiation as part of the discussions on the multi-annual financial framework.
	Taking into account the different funding phases, the additional amount to complete the system and early research contributions from the EU budget, it is estimated that the first complete generation of the Galileo system will cost around €7 billion.

Growth Accelerator Service

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses have used the Growth Accelerator service since its launch; how many of these received (a) coaching, (b) comprehensive and (c) other support under the scheme; and how many firms made initial inquiries to the service but did not go on to use it.

Michael Fallon: Growth Accelerator was formally launched on 23 May 2012. As of 7 September 2012, 715 businesses are on the programme. All of these businesses will receive coaching as well as a mix of master classes, leadership and management training and access to external support according to their needs (e.g. export advice, angel investment, access to incubators etc.). So far over 2,603 eligible businesses have expressed an interest in the programme (eligibility is based on company size, location and ownership). Of these, 339 were not found to be suitable and 1,549 are still in the process of being assessed for the programme.

Higher Education: Admissions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of future trends in (a) the number of students attending commercial for-profit universities and (b) the number of students attending commercial for-profit universities taking a loan from the Student Loans Company; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Department does not hold data on the total number of students that attend commercial for-profit universities.
	The Department does not distinguish between those universities that operate on a commercial for-profit basis, and those that do not, in assessing students' eligibility for student loans. It does not, therefore, collect data on those accessing student support and who are attending a commercial for-profit university.
	I have, however, previously placed a list in the Libraries of the House showing the number of students that took out student loans in respect of studies with all types of non-publicly funded providers in each year since 2006. This was in response to the answer I gave on 17 April 2012, Official Report, column 334W, to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Shabana Mahmood).
	This shows an upward trend in the numbers of students, courses, and institutions. This in line with the Government's policy that new providers and new forms of higher education provision will help to stimulate and strengthen market competition, promote student choice, and ensure value for money.

Higher Education: Hartlepool and Hendon

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of students in Hartlepool constituency who have commenced tuition on a course costing £9,000 per annum in September 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the number of students from Hendon constituency who have commenced tuition on a course costing £9,000 per annum in September 2012.

David Willetts: Information on the fees charged to entrants to higher education courses will be collected over the course of this academic year. Statistics on fee levels will be available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency from January 2014. No eligible student has to pay for their tuition up front. Loans of up to £9,000 are available for full-time and full-time distance learning students to meet the full cost of tuition charges at publicly-funded institutions.

Insolvency

Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to investigate (a) the relationship between invoice finance providers, banks and insolvency practitioners and (b) the treatment of small and medium-sized enterprises by such bodies.

Michael Fallon: The Government are aware of the concerns that have been raised and we are currently looking into them in more detail. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, HM Treasury and the Insolvency Service are all engaged, and we are in contact with the relevant industry bodies.

Lighters: Safety

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress his Department has made in implementing his direction of the Secretary of State under regulation 35(2) of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, as reaffirmed in May this year, with regard to the safety of lighters in the last 12 months.

Michael Fallon: The annual renewal of the direction serves to remind trading standards services of the ban on novelty lighters and the placing of only child resistant lighters onto the UK market. We do not require officers to report their activities to the Department. However, a quick e-mail round to officers found that lighters are one of the products routinely stopped and examined at ports of entry and also examined in various market surveillance activities. If non-compliant lighters are found appropriate action is taken.

London Metropolitan University

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 10 September 2012, Official Report, column 106W on London Metropolitan university, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department had with (i) Ministers and officials in the Home Department, (ii) officials from the UK Border Agency and (iii) the vice-chancellor of London Metropolitan university since 28 August 2012 to discuss the withdrawal of highly trusted sponsor status of London Metropolitan university.

David Willetts: Both Ministers and officials have had discussions with Ministers and officials in the Home Office, officials from the UKBA and representatives of London Metropolitan university on issues related to the withdrawal of LMU's highly trusted status, including via the taskforce that I established shortly after the decision was announced.

London Metropolitan University

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 7 September 2012, Official Report, column 496W on London Metropolitan university, whether he has met the Higher Education Funding Council for England to discuss the financial implications of losing highly trusted status; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: I meet regularly with officials of the Higher Education Funding Council for England to discuss a wide range of issues including the implications for London Metropolitan university of losing its highly trusted status. Dates of meetings between BIS Ministers' and external organisations are recorded on the BIS website as part of the Department's policy of transparency at
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/transparency/staff
	And I refer the right hon. Member to my answer to PQ 120982 answered today.

Manchester Declaration

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent contribution his Department and its non-departmental public bodies and agencies have made to implementation of the 2005 Manchester declaration.

Jo Swinson: The Department, its agencies and non departmental public bodies support the Government's commitment—in line with the 2005 Manchester declaration—to use digital technologies to transform the quality of public service, improving transparency; ensuring value for money and to support economic growth.
	The Manchester declaration has now been replaced by the Malmo declaration on which the Cabinet Office lead.

Manufacturing Advisory Service

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses have used the services provided by the Manufacturing Advisory Service since its launch; how many firms used each service provided by the scheme; and how many firms made initial inquiries to the service but did not go on to use it.

Michael Fallon: Since its launch on 3 January 2012, just under 7,500 businesses have contacted the new national Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS). Of these:
	Around 5,200 have received a free Manufacturing Review to identify ways to improve productivity and grow
	Over 1,500 have been offered a grant towards the cost of implementing productivity and other improvements in their businesses
	Just under 800 have attended best practice or training workshops.
	Around 1,500 businesses have contacted MAS but have not yet had a Manufacturing Review or attended a MAS workshop. In some cases, this will be because MAS will have been able to help the business by providing immediate advice on manufacturing queries such as sourcing UK suppliers or for non-manufacturing queries referring them to other sources of expertise such as UKTI for support on exporting. In other cases, the businesses will be in the process of arranging a manufacturing review or attending a suitable MAS best practice visit or workshop.

New Businesses: Young People

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many delivery partners have received formal offers under the start-up loans scheme.

Michael Fallon: holding answer 17 September 2012
	Eight offer letters have been issued, after being approved by the Start-Up Loans company's delivery panel. These seven include one partner who gives the programme national coverage and six who work in specific localities. All eight provide a full service from access to the youth market, through pre-application support, making loans and providing mentors. The first loans have now been made and there have been over one thousand application inquiries through the website and Facebook.

New Businesses: Young People

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses are using premises under the start up spaces scheme; and what the total number of premises currently available is under the scheme.

Michael Fallon: holding answer 17 September 2012
	On 31 May 2012 Government invited bids from potential providers to manage 24 vacant Government spaces in England and Scotland. The procurement has now closed and officials are working with bidders, Government Departments and their landlords to process bids. It is not possible to provide detailed information as the work is commercially sensitive.

Olympic Games 2012

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department used the Olympic route network for travel for official purposes during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will publish details of Government use of tickets and hospitality in the autumn. This will include use of transport services which operated on the Olympic or Paralympic route networks.

Overseas Students: EU Nationals

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the total cost to the Government was of EU citizens from other member states studying at UK higher education institutions in each of the last five years.

David Willetts: holding answer 17 September 2012
	The costs given in this reply relate to EU students studying in England only, and are broken down by (1) the level of recurrent grant for teaching provided by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and (2) the amount of tuition fee loans paid to EU students studying in England.
	Funding for teaching
	The HEFCE recurrent grant for teaching, which funds higher education studied in higher education institutions and further education colleges and some postgraduate research courses, is shown in the following table. It is not possible to provide a precise breakdown of cost by domicile, but if funding was distributed proportionally across domicile groups according to the numbers of full-time equivalent student numbers, an estimate of the teaching grant cost of EU citizens would be as shown in the following table. The information is only available in this format for the three years shown in the table.
	
		
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 HEFCE recurrent grant for teaching (£m, financial years) 4,920 5,076 5,107 
			 Percentage of HEFCE-fundable FTEs from the EU (excluding the UK) 6.4 6.7 7.0 
			 Estimate of HEFCE recurrent grant for EU students (£ million) 310 340 360 
		
	
	
		
			 Note: EU students are reflected by the state of domicile rather than citizenship. Sources: Department for Business and Innovation and Skills (and predecessors), ‘Grant Letters’ to HEFCE and Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data, via HEFCE 
		
	
	Student support
	Under EC law, EU students are eligible to the same access to education as those from the member state. EU nationals have been eligible to apply for tuition fee loans since their introduction in academic year 2006-07. EU nationals are generally eligible for tuition fee support only, provided that they have been ordinarily resident in the European economic area (EEA) or Switzerland for the three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of their course. The following table shows the loan outlay each academic year, which will be repaid when the borrower's income is above the appropriate repayment threshold.
	
		
			 Tuition fee loans to EU students studying in England 
			 Academic year Sum borrowed (£ million) 
			 2006/07 23.7 
			 2007/08 44.5 
			 2008/09 62.8 
			 2009/10 76.4 
			 2010/11 88.5 
			 Source: Student Loans Company

Overseas Trade

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with which 10 countries UK trade has increased the most in (a) percentage and (b) absolute terms in the last year.

Michael Fallon: The following tables show the largest increases in exports, imports and bilateral trade (exports + imports) in absolute value and percentage terms for goods and services separately.
	It is often the case that the largest percentage increases are with the smallest trading partners because of the small value of trade with these countries. In order to not distort the percentage increase data in this way the tables only consider the UK's 100 largest trade partners in each category for 2011 and display the top 10 from those selected countries.
	A full list of trade values covering over 200 countries can be found in the ONS Balance of Payments publication table 9.13 (Services) and on the HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics website (Goods):
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/
	Percentage increases for services have been calculated on rounded values.
	
		
			 Bilateral trade in goods: (100 largest trading partners only) 
			  Increase in value (£ million) % increase 
			 By value   
			 Germany 8,516 12 
			 Norway 5,074 23 
			 France 4,487 11 
			 Belgium 4,328 14 
		
	
	
		
			 Netherlands 3,987 8 
			 China 3,475 10 
			 Russia 3,423 40 
			 Qatar 2,658 82 
			 Denmark 2,251 33 
			 India 1,880 20 
			    
			 By % increase   
			 Botswana 1,861 326 
			 Kazakhstan 547 124 
			 Equatorial Guinea 159 120 
			 Benin 233 113 
			 Namibia 250 108 
			 Algeria 1,017 96 
			 Qatar 2,658 82 
			 Tanzania 106 76 
			 Yemen 84 71 
			 Nigeria 1,478 65 
		
	
	
		
			 Bilateral trade in services: (100 largest trading partners only) 
			  Increase in value (£ million) % increase 
			 By value   
			 Japan 1,386 17 
			 USA 1,235 2 
			 France 1,146 6 
			 Luxembourg 733 19 
			 Russia 630 23 
			 Sweden 610 13 
			 Hong Kong 601 22 
			 Ireland 598 5 
			 Netherlands 595 4 
			 China 583 15 
			    
			 By % increase   
			 Equatorial Guinea 63 89 
			 Lithuania 145 67 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 77 66 
			 Slovakia 204 49 
			 Colombia 132 43 
			 Gibraltar 168 38 
			 Uganda 35 35 
			 Ghana 102 31 
			 Iraq 176 28 
			 Israel 310 27 
		
	
	
		
			 UK exports of goods: (100 largest trading partners only) 
			  Increase in value (£ million) % increase 
			 By value   
			 Germany 4,622 16 
			 France 2,979 15 
			 Belgium 2,512 19 
			 Netherlands 1,791 9 
			 United States 1,595 4 
			 China 1,548 21 
			 India 1,458 37 
			 Russia 1,330 39 
			 Italy 1,128 13 
		
	
	
		
			 Australia 1,004 32 
			    
			 By % increase   
			 US Virgin Islands 78 1313 
			 Togo 83 424 
			 Kazakhstan 293 124 
			 Benin 233 113 
			 Tanzania 101 86 
			 Iceland 106 84 
			 Afghanistan 150 77 
			 Ethiopia 62 77 
			 Algeria 228 66 
			 Dutch Antilles 29 60 
		
	
	
		
			 UK exports of services: (100 largest trading partners only) 
			  Increase in value (£ million) % increase 
			 By value   
			 USA 911 2 
			 France 869 10 
			 Ireland 773 9 
			 Russia 595 35 
			 China 529 20 
			 India 503 24 
			 Germany 486 5 
			 Luxembourg 415 18 
			 Netherlands 373 4 
			 Spain 360 7 
			    
			 By % increase   
			 Ethiopia 64 152 
			 Equatorial Guinea 61 87 
			 Lithuania 84 86 
			 Gibraltar 235 82 
			 Slovakia 213 74 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 48 72 
			 Senegal 40 58 
			 Colombia 132 53 
			 Mozambique 38 45 
			 Barbados 38 38 
		
	
	
		
			 UK imports of goods: (100 largest trading partners only) 
			  Increase in value (£ million) % increase 
			 By value   
			 Norway 4,786 25 
			 Germany 3,894 9 
			 Qatar 2,522 112 
			 Netherlands 2,196 8 
			 Russia 2,093 41 
			 Denmark 1,981 49 
			 China 1,928 7 
			 Botswana 1,856 331 
			 Belgium 1,816 11 
			 France 1,508 7 
			    
			 By % increase   
			 Equatorial Guinea 210 1113 
			 Azerbaijan 101 388 
		
	
	
		
			 Botswana 1,856 331 
			 Angola 237 298 
			 Yemen 103 240 
			 Nigeria 1,322 145 
			 Papua New Guinea 72 127 
			 Kazakhstan 254 124 
			 Zimbabwe 31 116 
			 Qatar 2,522 112 
		
	
	
		
			 UK imports of services: (100 largest trading partners only) 
			  Increase in value (£ million) % increase 
			 By value   
			 Japan 1,067 29 
			 Canada 331 22 
			 USA 324 2 
			 Luxembourg 318 21 
			 Sweden 303 18 
			 Singapore 295 16 
			 Hong Kong 284 27 
			 France 277 3 
			 Netherlands 222 6 
			 Italy 212 5 
			    
			 By % increase   
			 Bahamas 77 285 
			 Costa Rica 47 188 
			 Iceland 84 156 
			 Andorra 33 127 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 28 93 
			 Cayman Islands 31 76 
			 Saint Lucia 26 72 
			 Isle of Man 23 61 
			 Estonia 18 60 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 29 59 
			 Sources: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics, ONS Balance of Payments—Pink Book

Overseas Trade

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the value was of (a) exports and (b) imports between the UK and (i) Brazil, (ii) India, (iii) China, (iv) Turkey, (v) Germany, (vi) Belgium, (vii) Ireland and (viii) the Russian Federation in each of the last three years.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade figures are compiled by Her Majesty's Revenue and Custom (HMRC) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and published in the “ONS Balance of Payments” publication. The following tables show UK exports and imports of goods and services for 2009, 2010 and 2011.
	
		
			 £ billion 
			  2009 2010 2011 
			 (a) UK Exports to:    
			 Brazil 2.5 3.1 3.7 
			 India 4.7 6.2 8.3 
		
	
	
		
			 China 7.6 10.3 12.5 
			 Turkey 3.3 4.4 5.2 
			 Germany 35.9 38.8 43.9 
			 Belgium 14.2 16.3 19.0 
			 Ireland 24.5 25.7 27.4 
			 Russia 4.3 5.3 7.3 
		
	
	
		
			 £ billion 
			  2009 2010 2011 
			 (b) UK Imports from:    
			 Brazil 2.9 3.6 3.1 
			 India 6.6 8.3 8.5 
			 China 25.8 31.8 32.8 
			 Turkey 6.0 7.0 7.0 
			 Germany 48.8 55.8 59.6 
			 Belgium 17.5 19.5 21.5 
			 Ireland 16.6 17.3 17.3 
			 Russia 5.9 6.3 8.5 
			 Source: ONS UK Balance of Payments

Parking

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of levels of competition in the car park providers' industry;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to prevent monopolistic behaviour by car park providers at airports, railways and hospitals.

Jo Swinson: holding answer 17 September 2012
	As the UK's independent competition authorities, it is for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), or an appropriate sector regulator, to assess any cases of possible anti-competitive behaviour.
	I understand that the OFT conducted an infrastructure ownership and control stocktake in 2010, which can be viewed at:
	http://www.oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/markets-work/othermarketswork/infrastructure-ownership/
	This covers car parks and also refers to work in this area by the Civil Aviation Authority and Office of Rail Regulation.

Postal Services

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the viability of the mutualisation of Post Office Ltd.

Jo Swinson: holding answer 11 September 2012
	As the Government made clear in its response to the public consultation on possible options for the mutualisation of Post Office Ltd, before it can be mutualised, the Post Office must be on a secure financial footing. Supported by £1.34 billion of Government funding, Post Office Ltd is making progress towards financial sustainability. 2011/12 saw revenues increase for the first time since 2005/06, and today the network is at its most stable for over a quarter of a century.

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the name is of each company with which his Department has a contract; what the monetary value of each such contract is; and what is provided to his Department under the terms of the contract.

Jo Swinson: Full details of all contracts held by the Department can be provided only at a disproportionate cost. However details of all contracts awarded greater than £10,000 are published on the contracts Finder website:
	http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1086320080&r.i=1086320014&r.I1= 1073861169&r.I2=1086363734&r.I3=1086319968&r.s= sc&r.t=RESOURCES&type=RESOURCES
	In addition all payments to suppliers irrespective of value are published as part of the Department's transparency commitment on the BIS website:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/transparency

Departmental Contracts

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department's policy is on taking into account when assessing tenders submitted for departmental contracts the (a) apprenticeship schemes, (b) policies on employment of paid interns and (c) policies of payment of at least the living wage of each bidding company.

Jo Swinson: RCUK Shared Services Centre Ltd has taken over the provision of procurement services on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) from 1 August 2012. The BIS procurement policy does not include provision in relation to points (a), (b) and (c) above.
	This does not mean that these factors have not been evaluated within assessment offenders, merely that they are not specifically highlighted within that policy document.
	If the commissioning Department considered these factors to be pertinent to a particular requirement then they would have been included within both the specification and the tender evaluation in a transparent manner clearly identifying the weighting to be applied as part of the overall assessment.

Regional Growth Fund

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many jobs have been created since the launch of the regional growth fund in (a) the UK, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Birmingham; and what the average financial cost was of each job created.

Michael Fallon: holding answer 14 September 2012
	Bidders to rounds 1 and 2 of regional growth fund (RGF) anticipate creating or safeguarding 330,000 gross jobs in England over the period 2011 to 2021. Bidders in the west midlands anticipated 69,100 jobs when they requested £232.5 million over 31 bids, and within that figure, for Birmingham it was 20,221 jobs (£119 million over seven bids). The gross cost per job on average across England is £4,200: for the west midlands, it is £3,365 and of that figure, for Birmingham £5,886.
	RGF awards are conditional on the delivery of monitored jobs and private sector investment. Based on the above gross jobs figure, the delivery of approximately 110,000 jobs is monitored directly: 220,000 are indirect supply chain jobs that are derived from the amount of private sector investment in the economy.
	Nationwide, jobs have already been created or safeguarded due to private investment and projects that start, and so create jobs, before they make their first RGF claim; in the west midlands, over 1,400 jobs have been created in this way, including at JLR.
	Monitoring shows that 10,246 direct jobs have been created to date for England, from projects and programmes. The relevant projects and programmes in this region are at an early stage: monitoring via the claims they have made shows that 122 jobs have been confirmed in the west midlands and none in Birmingham yet, although the Birmingham Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative is committed to create 5,000 jobs over its lifetime and their award process is under way.

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2012, Official Report, column 404W, on the regional growth fund, which key performance metrics regional growth fund awards are monitored against on a quarterly basis; and how many winning bidders under (a) round 1, (b) round 2 and (c) round 3 of the regional growth fund have failed to meet required standards under those metrics.

Michael Fallon: holding answer 17 September 2012
	regional growth fund (RGF) project grants are triggered by the achievement of a number of different outputs, tailored according to the details of the project. These include jobs created or safeguarded, leveraged investment, infrastructure created, R&D funds invested or training places.
	RGF project payments are made after the applicant has carried out the contracted activity and submits evidence of these outputs: this then triggers a payment claim. Of the 127 cases in rounds 1 and 2 where the final grant offer letter has been accepted and thus a legal contract exists between the Government and the applicant, 80 are due to have made at least one claim with accompanying evidence. Of these, 55 have claimed on schedule, six are ahead of schedule, and 19 are behind schedule. The reasons for those behind schedule vary, including unexpected delays to other investments and economic activity not reaching the anticipated levels. In such circumstances, the local programme delivery teams work with the company to address problems and bring the grant back on track, or examine whether the changes to the grant size or conditions are needed for the project to succeed. No bids have yet been approved for round 3 as we are currently finalising appraisals and will announce successful bidders next month.

Regional Growth Fund: North East

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much and what proportion of funding awarded through the regional growth fund has reached front-line businesses in the North East.

Michael Fallon: £160 million has been awarded to projects in the North East from the first two regional growth fund (RGF) bidding rounds. These offers equate to 76 awards to individual front line businesses and two infrastructure and business premises projects in Newcastle. Of these, awards have been finalised for 44 projects worth £58 million; terms have been agreed for a further 20 projects worth an additional £63 million. Seven projects worth £28 million have withdrawn from the process before a final offer was made to them. Seven awards worth a total £11 million have not yet agreed terms. Officials are working closely with these bidders and have informed them if they are unable to progress their offers by the end of September 2012 their RGF allocation will be withdrawn.
	Beneficiaries draw down RGF funding in arrears of private sector investment as per their requirements. At 14 September 2012, 19 companies from the North East who have submitted their claims have had £20.5 million paid to them.
	I expect to announce third round allocations next month.

Regional Growth Fund: Warwickshire

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding has been awarded to businesses in Warwickshire through the regional growth fund to date.

Michael Fallon: In Warwickshire, regional growth fund conditional allocations of £3,035,000 have been made from the first two rounds of bidding. We expect to announce third round allocations next month.

Research: Finance

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether it is still the Government's policy to increase UK investment in research and development to 2.5% of GDP.

David Willetts: The Government does not have a target for UK investment in research and development as a proportion of GDP.

Self-employed

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of people (a) working in the construction industry and (b) overall were self-employed in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Michael Fallon: The proportion of self-employed jobs in the construction contracting industry (Section F, SIC 2007) and the whole economy over the last five years is given in Table 1 as follows:
	
		
			 Table 1: Proportion of self-employed jobs in construction contracting and whole economy 
			 Percentage 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Construction contracting 40.5 38.7 41.2 42.5 43.7 
		
	
	
		
			 Whole economy 13.0 13.2 13.8 13.9 14.4 
			 Notes: 1. Figures as at June of each year. 2. There are two ways of looking at employment: the number of people with jobs (measured by the Labour Force Survey) or the number of jobs (measured by the Workforce Jobs Series). These two concepts are not the same as one person can have more than one job and some jobs may be shared by more than one person. Source: BIS estimates based on the latest ONS Workforce Jobs by Industry series. 
		
	
	The figures above are based on the Workforce Jobs Series. These series are the preferred source of statistics on employment by industry as they are sourced from employer surveys (employers are more likely to classify the industry of a business correctly). By contrast, the Labour Force Survey is self-reported.

Shareholders: Voting Behaviour

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the proportion of institutional investors publicly disclosing (a) summary statistics about their exercise of voting rights, (b) partial details of votes cast, (c) full details of all votes cast and (d) explanations for significant voting decisions in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jo Swinson: holding answer 14 September 2012
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not calculated its own estimates of institutional investor voting disclosure, but takes a close interest in the range of research studies produced by a number of organisations.

Shareholders: Voting Behaviour

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research his Department (a) has undertaken and (b) plans to undertake on the level and quality of disclosure of voting records provided by institutional investors; and when he expects any such research to be completed.

Jo Swinson: holding answer 14 September 2012
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has not undertaken its own research of this kind. However, research published by various organisations including the Investment Management Association and the TUC reflects that, while the level and quality of disclosure by fund managers varies, disclosure on both measures has generally increased in the last five years. BIS continues to monitor these trends closely.

Spacecraft

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the European Space Agency on the viability of the Skylon Spaceplane; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: Neither I nor UK Space Agency officials have held discussions with the European Space Agency recently. Officials continue to work with the company to establish a business case and the technical viability of the Skylon Spaceplane.

Spacecraft

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what preparations his Department is making on a regulatory framework for reusable spaceplanes; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: I announced at Farnborough International in July that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Transport would undertake a joint review of the regulatory framework needed for reusable space planes. This review is ongoing.

Students: Loans

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what dates (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) senior officials in his Department met representatives of (i) Santander, (ii) Barclays, (iii) Lloyds Bank, (iv) other banks and (v) the British Bankers Association to discuss banks offering student loans since 1 January 2011; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: holding answer 17 September 2012
	I have attended a number of events with banking groups relating to our higher education reforms. A list of Ministers' meetings can be found on the BIS website at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/transparency/staff
	Officials from Student Finance met Santander on 13 June 2011, Citibank on 24 November 2011 and Barclays Bank in February 2012 and July 2012. In addition, officials had meetings with Link Financial on 7 September 2011, HSBC in September 2011 and the Islamic Bank of Britain on 31 August 2012. Officials also have regular contact with the Administrators of those Mortgage Style Loans that have been sold—Honours Student Loans (for the portfolio owned by Honours Trustee Ltd) and Link Financial (for the portfolio owned by Finance for Higher Education Ltd).

Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the proposal not to add value added tax to the cost of a 24+ advanced learner loan in respect of provision offered by an independent learning provider which is listed on the Register of Training Organisations.

Matthew Hancock: There is no proposal to add VAT to 24+ advanced learning loans or to any other type of student loan.

Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to ensure that learners receiving tuition under (a) public, (b) private and (c) third sector providers are able to access 24+ advanced learner loans under the same terms and conditions.

Matthew Hancock: The terms and conditions of the 24+ advanced learning loans will be the same irrespective of the type of college or training organisation where the learner is accessing training.

Unemployment: Young People

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to reduce the number of people aged 18-to-24 years of age in Peterborough constituency who are not in employment, education or training; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: In “Building Engagement, Building Futures”, we set out our strategy to increase the proportion of young people participating in education, employment or training and address the challenge of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).
	We are expanding the apprenticeships programme and will fund up to 250,000 more apprenticeships over the spending review period compared to the previous Government's plans. We are investing £1.5 billion this year. We have also introduced the Access to Apprenticeships programme for 16 to 24-year-olds that will benefit up to 10,000 vulnerable young people who need extra help to become an apprentice.
	In addition, we are helping young people into work through pre-employment training for those on active benefits, work experience opportunities and continuation of the graduate talent pool. The Work programme provides unemployed young people with personalised support and training to help them into sustainable work. The £1 billion youth contract will also provide extra support to unemployed young people in addition to what is already available through Jobcentre Plus and the Work programme.

Unfair Dismissal

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what evidence his Department has gathered on the potential direct benefits to business of extending the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims.

Jo Swinson: The direct benefits to business of extending the qualifying period for unfair dismissal arise from reduced costs of defending employment tribunal claims. BIS used survey and administrative data to establish a likely reduction in employment tribunal claims, and the unit costs for businesses of defending employment tribunal claims. The Department estimates annual benefits to business in the region of £4.7 million and the detail of this is set out in our impact assessment published on 16 November 2011.
	It is too early to assess the full impact of the measure, but the Department has committed to make an initial assessment in 2014.

Vocational Training

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what target timetable his Department has set for successful bidders to receive their allocated funds under the Employer Ownership pilot.

Michael Fallon: Following the announcement of the first successful bidders on 11 September, bids are now undergoing due diligence and agreement of Grant Offer Letters. Letters should be issued from October. We are not in a legally binding relationship with any successful employers at this stage. Once completed, a schedule to the Grant Offer letters will set out the timetable for payments against agreed milestones within each individual project. Payments will generally be on a quarterly basis and will be paid in arrears of spend.

Zimbabwe

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of any business links between (a) Old Mutual PLC and (b) UK companies and the Zimbabwean Mining Development Corporation or its subsidiaries.

Michael Fallon: I cannot comment on individual UK firms due to the need to respect commercial confidence. The Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) is a designated entity under EU Regulation 77/ 2009 that imposes, sanctions against certain individuals and entities in Zimbabwe. HM Treasury is responsible for the implementation of financial sanctions against designated entities.

Zimbabwe

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department (a) is undertaking and (b) plans to undertake any investigation of links between UK FTSE 100 listed firms and the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation.

Michael Fallon: This Department is not undertaking such an investigation. The Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) is a designated entity under EU Regulation 77/2009 that imposes sanctions against certain individuals and entities in Zimbabwe. HM Treasury is responsible for the implementation of financial sanctions against designated entities.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Atos Healthcare

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many appeals against decisions based on reports from ATOS have been registered by residents of (a) Warrington and (b) Warrington North constituency in each of the last two years; and what proportion of such appeals have been successful at tribunal.

Mark Hoban: The Department only holds information on appeals once they have been heard by HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS). Due to the time it takes for appeals to be submitted to, and heard by, HMCTS, it is likely there are more appeals that have not yet been heard. The number of appeals is therefore likely to change as more up to date information becomes available.
	The following table presents the total number of WCA decisions, the number of fit for work decisions and the outcomes of appeals on fit for work decisions made at initial employment and support allowance work capability assessments in the Warrington local authority area for claims that started in 2010 and between January and May 2011 (the latest data available), including actions on these claims up to May 2012. Constituency level data are not available.
	
		
			 Outcomes of appeals on fit for work decisions made at initial ESA WCAs in the Warrington local authority area for claims starting in 2010 and between January and May 2011 
			  Claim start date 
			  January to December 2010 January to May 2011 
			 Total WCA decisions 1,340 560 
			 Total FFW Decisions 780 350 
			    
			 Volume of appeals on FFW decisions   
			 DWP decision upheld 220 70 
			 DWP decision overturned 100 30 
			 Either outcome 320 100 
			    
			 Proportion of heard appeals   
			 DWP decision upheld (percentage) 68 70 
			 DWP decision overturned (percentage) 32 30 
			 Notes: 1. The information above is taken from administrative data held by the Department for Work and Pensions and assessment data provided by Atos Healthcare. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 3. The figures above only cover new claims to ESA and exclude incapacity benefit reassessments to determine eligibility for ESA. On 20 April 2012 the Department published data on the outcomes of IB reassessment claims at regional and local authority level at the following link: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/adhoc_analysis/index.php?page=adhoc_analysis_2012_q2

Child Maintenance

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what new steps he plans to put in place at the Child Maintenance Service to establish whether a non-resident parent's standard of living is consistent with their declared income where there is a dispute between the parents over the non-resident parent's income.

Steve Webb: The inconsistent lifestyle ground for a variation has proved difficult to administer and ineffective in operation. It places an undue burden on parents who receive child maintenance of providing proof, which they are then generally unable to supply. As such it serves only to raise their hopes then disappoint.
	Our new approach is to take advantage of the fact that we will be able to access self-assessment records from HMRC. This will allow us to take account of a paying parent's taxable income from sources such as property, savings and investments within the variations part of the new scheme. Variations are the set of rules that allow us to adjust the calculation of maintenance to take into account special factors such as costs of contact or other income sources. This will provide a more effective route to taking all elements of the paying parent's income into account without placing undue burdens on the receiving parent.
	This does mean that we will assess the paying parent based on his/her income declared to HMRC, and so there is of course always the possibility of fraudulent behaviour by the paying parent. This Government takes seriously anyone who fails to declare their full taxable income to HMRC. The Child Maintenance Service will work with HMRC to ensure that such cases are dealt with appropriately when they come to light through the child maintenance system.

Employment Schemes: Merseyside

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were employed by Liverpool-based companies under (a) the Welfare to Work programme and (b) the Work Programme in each of the last five years.

Mark Hoban: The data collected in the last five years about Welfare to Work programmes and the Work Programme do not enable an analysis of how many people were employed by Liverpool based companies.

Employment Schemes: Merseyside

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) Merseyside have been awarded (i) full-time and (ii) part-time work as a result of a placement secured through the Work Programme.

Mark Hoban: The Department will publish official statistics on Work Programme job outcomes in autumn 2012.

Employment Schemes: Merseyside

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many companies have taken part in the Welfare to Work programme in Liverpool.

Mark Hoban: The data collected on Welfare to Work programmes do not enable an analysis of how many companies have taken part in Liverpool.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will rank all English local authorities by the percentage change in local housing allowance claims between April 2010 and April 2012.

Steve Webb: The question is interpreted as referring to local housing allowance claims.
	A breakdown by each local authority in England of the local housing allowance caseload in April 2010 and April 2012 has been placed in the House of Commons Library. Local authorities are ranked by the percentage change over the period.

Jobseeker's Allowance: North West

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseekers in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) the North West have applied and failed to qualify for jobseeker's allowance since May 2010.

Mark Hoban: Jobseeker's allowance applications for Liverpool, Walton constituency and the Merseyside area are processed by the Birkenhead Benefit Centre. Information is not available below benefit centre level. From May 2010 to August 2012, 209,258 jobseeker's allowance applications were processed in the Birkenhead Benefit Centre. Of these, 24,293 were refused.
	From May 2010 to August 2012, 1,042,362 jobseeker's allowance applications were processed in the North West. Of these 135,183 were refused.

Jobseeker's Allowance: North West

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) Merseyside were transferred from long-term incapacity benefit to jobseeker's allowance in each of the last five years.

Mark Hoban: The information is not currently available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Minimum Wage: Young People

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many employers are employing people aged (a) 16 to 17 and (b) 18 to 20 who are on the national minimum wage;
	(2)  how many people aged (a) 16 to 17 and (b) 18 to 20 are in receipt of the national minimum wage.

Jo Swinson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The Low Pay Commission have estimated that in April 2011 the number of 16 to 17-year-olds earning at the national minimum wage of £3.68 was nearly 19,000 (7.2% of all paid workers in this age group). The number of 18 to 20-year-olds earning at the minimum wage of £4.98 in April 2011 was nearly 89,000 (8.0% of all paid workers in this age group).

Minimum Wage: Young People

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of hours worked per week by people aged (a) 16 to 17 and (b) 18 to 20 who are in receipt of the national minimum wage.

Jo Swinson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Based on the most recent data from the 2011 Annual Survey of Household Earnings we estimate that for all 16 to 17-year-olds earning around the national minimum wage of £3.68 the average weekly hours was 15.0 hours (not including overtime). For 18 to 20-year-olds earning around the national minimum wage of £4.98 the average weekly hours was 21.5 hours a week (not including overtime).
	The estimates here are based on the 5 pence earnings band that includes the national minimum wage.

Post Office Card Account

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2012, Official Report, column 652W, on social security benefits: Post Office card account, what steps he has taken to estimate the number of claimants who wish to have universal credit payments paid into a Post Office card account.

Steve Webb: Discussions about what accounts people can be paid into are ongoing. No estimate has been made of the number of claimants who might wish to have their payments paid into a Post Office card account.

Social Security Benefits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of benefits he estimates have never worked.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available from DWP benefit administrative systems. Estimates of people aged 16 to 64 living in households containing no-one who has ever worked are published by the Office for National Statistics in the Working and Workless Households Bulletin (Table J), available from:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lmac/working-and-workless-households/2012/index.html
	These estimates do not include people who have never worked but live in the same household as someone who has. Reliable estimates of how many people who have never worked are receiving benefits are not available from the data source used in this publication, the Labour Force Survey, which is known to be subject to significant under-reporting of benefit receipt.

Universal Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the cost of the IT system for universal credit in each sub-category of expenditure.

Mark Hoban: IT investment costs over SR10 include IT development, associated integration with other systems and infrastructure requirements. These are currently estimated at £638 million over the period.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 Design and development 441 
			 Software 51 
			 Changes to dependent systems 14 
			 Infrastructure 52 
			 Other 80

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether households will be afforded 13 weeks' protection from rent restrictions under the housing component of universal credit when first making a claim for support with housing costs.

Steve Webb: No.

Welfare State: Scotland

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he last met the education Minister in the Scottish Government to discuss welfare reform; and what correspondence he has received from the Minister on that matter.

Mark Hoban: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), has not met with the Scottish Minister for education to discuss welfare reform.
	Following a search of our records we cannot locate any correspondence received from the Minister in relation to welfare reform.

Welfare State: Scotland

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he last met the Minister for youth employment in the Scottish Government to discuss welfare reform; and what correspondence he has received from the Minister in relation to that matter.

Mark Hoban: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), has not met with the Scottish Minister for youth employment to discuss welfare reform. Following a search of our records we cannot locate any correspondence received from the Minister in relation to welfare reform.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect that the reduction in the number of specialist welfare-to-work fraud investigation staff in his Department has had on its capacity to monitor Work programme contracts.

Mark Hoban: The Department treats any allegation of fraud by contractors very seriously. Any fraud is completely unacceptable. Where we identify, or are notified of, allegations of contractor fraud, these cases are investigated thoroughly by DWP's professionally trained and experienced investigators to a standard required to support reference to the police whenever evidence of criminal offences is discovered.
	The Department's Internal Investigations team is responsible for investigating allegations of fraud and other serious wrongdoing by DWP staff and contractors (including providers). Increased use of automated tools to support audit trail analysis has improved the efficient identification and appropriate investigation of cases involving the Department's staff (such as misuse of IT facilities), with professionally trained investigators only involved in more serious or criminal cases. This has supported the reduction in investigation staff. There has been no reduction in the capacity to carry out investigations of allegations into allegation of fraud on employment programmes. All allegations of suspected staff or contractor fraud continue to be investigated professionally and thoroughly, and, where appropriate, these are referred to the police.
	DWP has a range of mechanisms to monitor the Work programme, including contract performance reviews, compliance and assurance monitoring to minimise fraud and error, payment validation systems, analysis of management information and participant feedback.